Baltzer remanded to psychiatric hospital

A Nova Scotia man arrested for threatening police officers in western Newfoundland will stay in custody until his trial starts in early September.

Mark Baltzer, 53, voluntarily agreed to stay in custody during a hearing in Stephenville on Thursday.

Judge Jacqueline Jenkins ordered that Baltzer be remanded to the Waterford psychiatric hospital in St. John's until at least the Sept. 3 start of his trial on uttering threats, weapons-related offences and other charges.

Baltzer had been granted bail on Tuesday, but was arrested just hours later when the RCMP observed him entering a lounge at a motel in Stephenville. RCMP said a subsequent breath test found that he had already consumed alcohol. Both incidents violated the terms of his bail agreement.

Baltzer, a resident of Berwick, N.S., was arrested in June after RCMP were contacted by a Marine Atlantic passenger who heard Baltzer say he intended to kill police officers in Corner Brook.