A former superintendent for the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon Friday, almost one year after he was involved in an incident near Bella Coola.
Steven McVarnock, born in 1961, was charged with assault with a weapon and assault Aug. 20, 2025, related to an incident that took place in Hagensborg July 29 of that year.
McVarnock appeared virtually from Bella Coola in Robson Square Provincial Court July 3, and entered a guilty plea on the assault with weapon charge.
This is the second time McVarnock has been convicted of an assault, though it’s potentially the first such conviction to appear on his record.
That’s because he was granted an absolute discharge on a separate assault conviction last year.
McVarnock pleaded not guilty to assault with a weapon and entered a guilty plea to the lesser charge of simple assault April 2, 2025. That charge stemmed from an incident in Spallumcheen on June 29, 2024.
Following the pleas, the matter proceeded directly to sentencing and the court granted an absolute discharge, meaning McVarnock’s assault conviction does not appear on his criminal record.
An absolute discharge is a sentencing option a judge can use if it is considered to be in the offender’s best interest and not against public interest.
McVarnock retired after having served 32 years with the RCMP, according to a blog post. He started as the Vernon RCMP’s superintendent in December 2006 and spent less than three years in that post. He spent three and a half years as commander of the RCMP’s V Division in Nunavut, from 2009 to 2013, according to the Nunatsiaq News.
McVarnock’s current assault case was moved from Bella Coola Provincial Court to Robson Square Provincial Court early this year.
McVarnock’s lawyer said in entering the guilty plea, McVarnock understood he was admitting to the essential elements of the offence.
A pre-sentencing report was ordered, and McVarnock will return to court on Sept. 16 for the purpose of having the court receive the report.