NORTH BATTLEFORD – The case against a man charged in a drug bust north of Biggar where an RCMP officer was shot is bouncing back and forth between courthouses.
Forty-year-old Kurt Miller had case management in North Battleford Provincial Court last week and his matters were waived to Moose Jaw Provincial Court. Previously it was in Regina Provincial Court as well as Biggar Circuit Court. Now he is expected to appear in Moose Jaw Provincial Court Dec. 30.
In February 2021, the court heard that there was a “potential resolution" when Vancouver lawyer Robert Dick told the court that defence has been in discussions with the prosecutor’s office about a possible resolution. He said Miller has charges out of Regina, Saskatoon and North Battleford and defence and Crown may come to a global resolution.
Dick said he has gone over “somewhat copious” amounts of disclosure, adding there are charter and factual issues.
A trial was scheduled for May 2021, but it didn't proceed and the charges against Miller went to case management in North Battleford Provincial Court.
Miller was arrested in May 2020 during a traffic stop in Regina. The next day, police raided Miller’s rural property 27 kilometres north of Biggar and arrested Mitch Hutchinson, 49.
As a result of the traffic stop by Regina Police, Miller was charged with drug trafficking offences. He was also charged with possession of proceeds of crime under $5,000, possession of a weapon dangerous to the public and breach of probation. After the rural property search near Biggar, Miller was charged with possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime over $5,000 and 16 firearms-related charges. The charges against Miller haven’t been proven in court.
In July 2020, Hutchinson was sentenced to seven years in prison after he pleaded guilty in Saskatoon Provincial Court. The court heard that Hutchinson mistakenly shot an RCMP officer thinking the officer was a coyote in the bushes surrounding Miller’s house. The officer was treated immediately for minor injuries.
The Saskatchewan RCMP Federal Serious and Organized Crime Unit raided the rural house in the R.M. of Glenside on May 14, 2020.
