A Prince George man was sentenced to 117 further days in jail Tuesday for beating up a man and then extorting more than $800 from him.
Eric Vern West, 33, was sentenced in Prince George provincial court to a year less 248 days time already served in custody after he was arrested March 1, 2013.
At about 5 a.m. that day, the victim had gone to a 2200-block Redwood St. home to obtain a rock of crack cocaine. He brought his paycheque with him and asked West to "front" him the drugs, promising to cash the cheque once the banks opened later that day.
In response, West punched him in the head, knocking the victim dizzy and continued to punch him in the ribs when he covered his head. With the victim subsequently bleeding from the head, West then ordered co-accused, Matthew Thomas Alston, to clean him up and take him to the bank to cash the cheque.
On the way there, the victim was told to tell the teller he had been beaten up to explain the bruising on his face. A co-worker of the victim was there and she took a picture of him and thought it odd that Alston was sticking so close to him.
The cheque for $443 was cashed and a further $427 was withdrawn and they went back to the victim's apartment. Alston took the money and told the victim not to tell anyone.
Suffering from bruises and contusions to his face and from three fractured ribs, the victim went to the hospital where he asked RCMP to attend. At first, he gave some different stories but eventually pinned the blame on West and Alston.
Police then tracked West down to a different home where he was arrested after what turned out to be the victim's blood was found on his clothes.
Defence lawyer Brian Gilson said West is a father of three children with a common law wife and had been making an "incredible amount of money" working as an equipment operator in the northeast B.C. oil patch.
"And as many oil workers do, in this day and age, he got - in his words - 'messed up in drugs and alcohol,' and developed a serious addiction problem and things got out of control," Gilson said.
West came back to Prince George where he began selling drugs out of the house Alston was renting from a Lower Mainland landlord.
A 12-day trial had been set for the incident but West pleaded guilty to two counts - extortion and assault causing bodily harm - even though the victim's credibility was in doubt because he initially gave police different stories about what happened, the court was told.
Once he has served his time, West plans to reunite with his family and leave Prince George, the court was told.
Charges against Alston related to the incident remain before the court and he is still in custody.
