SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - A 21-year veteran of the RCMP pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to threatening five members of the police force.

Sgt. Larry O'Brien wants to be tried in front of a Supreme Court judge alone and he requested a preliminary inquiry, according to defence lawyer Stephen Shabala, who acted as an agent for Calgary-based lawyer Karen Molle, O'Brien's legal representative.

O'Brien, who has served 13 years of his career in Yellowknife, was not present Tuesday. He is also facing charges of theft, forging documents and breach of trust, to which pleas were not entered Tuesday.

Crown prosecutor Mathieu St. Germain said the Crown intends to proceed by indictment for the charges of theft, forging documents, and breach of trust. Indictable offences entail longer sentences.

Whitehorse-based Crown lawyer David McWhinnie will be handling the case as it proceeds.

The case was adjourned to Oct. 19.

Most of the Mountie's charges relate to $2,000 that went missing from an RCMP exhibit locker in the latter part of 2008. The money was discovered missing on Jan. 8, 2009, but it reappeared in the locker later that day.

The charge of uttering threats stems from an incident on June 25, 2009, where O'Brien allegedly threatened five members of the Yellowknife RCMP. Following the incident, he was arrested, charged, and released.

He has been suspended with pay since Feb. 25. The RCMP intends to conduct its own internal code of conduct investigation after the court process is complete to determine O'Brien's future with the police force, according to Yellowknife RCMP detachment commander David Elliott.

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