The arbitration hearing for fired Port Arthur Police Det. Mickey Sterling stands in limbo — for now.

The third day of the hearing did not see any witnesses take the stand but revolved around the search for Sterling’s time slips and IRS tax returns from 2008, 2009, 2011 and 2014. The tax records are to be used to not only tell what Sterling reported on the forms but to be used as a base to trace his salary working as an officer versus working at a police escort business — an issue under question in the arbitration.

Bettye Lynn, the attorney representing the city and Sterling’s attorney, Bob Thomas, with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, argued about the admissibility of Sterling’s income tax filings. Thomas said the documents were privileged and confidential.

Lynn argued the documents were not privileged information because they would need to be used should Sterling be put back to work as a way to calculate his pay.

Don B. Hayes, serving as the arbitrator in the case, said the forms are necessary because of the gravity of the alleged violations.

At one point mid-morning Thursday, the hearing was put on hold as the parties left to search for the missing documents. A police officer escorted the defendant and his party into the station where, under supervision, only a small collection of receipts where found from when Sterling was working the off-duty jobs.

Hayes asked both parties to collectively find the documents. He said if the IRS documents are located they are to be copied and placed in a sealed envelope and he would review them ‘in camera’ and decide if they were relevant or if they needed to be redacted.

Another kink in the case is, some witnesses have not answered the subpoena. Lynn reportedly had about 20 people subpoenaed and only a handful showed up. One witness, self-proclaimed psychic medium Karen Jannise, testified via speakerphone on Wednesday.

As an arbitrator, Hayes said he has very little power when it comes to contempt of court and witnesses not answering their subpoenas.

“I am investigating what I can do,” Hayes said after the hearing was placed in recess.

One possibility is to allow witnesses to give written statements — something that is not usually admissible because it doesn’t allow for cross-examination. As of Thursday no decision was made as to how to deal with the issue of witnesses who refused to respond to a subpoena.

Hayes explained that the hearing was in recess and he would be in touch with both parties to schedule a block of days to continue the hearing.

He also said there is no “normal” amount of days for arbitration hearing as they depend entirely on the complexity that arises.

Testimony on Wednesday included damaging allegations against resigned officer Sgt. Scott Gaspard who worked closely with Sterling.

While the line of questioning mentioned both Sterling and Gaspard, Jannise’s testimony pointed mostly toward Gaspard.

Gaspard and Jannise had worked closely on a missing persons case and rumors flew about the psychic and the sergeant’s relationship. She said Gaspard provided her with confidential documents — likely taken from a law enforcement database — showing search results of Carol Gauthier, whose husband Joseph has been missing for two years and is possibly a murder victim, and others to a search showing job history and financial information about Chief Patrick Melvin which she said came from one of Melvin’s former employees in Arizona.

She said she had kept those documents in case she needed something “to defend myself in all of this.”

Earlier in the year, five officers were placed on administrative leave including Sterling, who was fired, and Gaspard, who resigned.

Jannise testified that Gaspard told her that when he was called into the chief’s office and her name came up, he stood up and resigned “to protect her.”

She said he also told her to get rid of any of the documents he had given her.