File photo.
A suspended band councillor from Key First Nation facing drug charges has been approved for electronic monitoring and released on $1,000 bail.
Clarence Papequash, 64, was in Yorkton court on Wednesday to seek bail on 10 charges: five for drug possession for the purpose of trafficking, four for firearms-related offences, and one for possession of stolen property.
He had been in custody since Feb. 15. At that time, police were executing a search warrant on Papequash’s residence. Mounties say they seized a number of pills and firearms from the home. They laid charges following the search.
Papequash is a current band councillor and former chief of Key, who was forced to resign in 2014 when he entered guilty pleas to drug charges that date back to 2010.
Current Key Chief Rodney Brass told MBC that Papequash was suspended as soon as the RCMP told Brass about the new charges. The band is looking into long-term options.
Papequash’s next court appearance is set for mid-March in Kamsack.