A Prince George man was handed an almost two-year conditional sentence for assault, uttering death threats and unlawful confinement of a victim at a local crack shack.
Christopher Bone, 22, pleaded guilty to the offences in January and appeared before Supreme Court Justice Peter Leask for sentencing Monday for his part in the June 2012 offence over the course of several weeks.
For more than three years Bone has lived on strict conditions that amount to house arrest - one of several mitigating factors that swayed Leask away from the jail time the Crown recommended.
Court heard Bone assaulted Terrence McGregor on numerous occasions after the Fraser Valley man was sent to Prince George to work off a drug debt with another man.
McGregor, described by Leask as young and "a very vulnerable victim," was told a landscaping job was waiting for him. Instead McGregor was assigned unpaid door duty as look-out at a crack shack on Inlander Street, which later moved to Victoria Street.
There, Crown counsel Susan Mengering said Bone would hit him every couple days.
In one case, Bone hit McGregor on the head with a can of bear spray.
Bone choked him at least two times, once to the point of blackout, Mengering said, and also hit him repeatedly on the leg until he limped.
Bone also threatened to throw him in a river and said he would never see his parents again, which was considered a death threat, court heard.
The first time Bone punched McGregor, Bone told him "he could not leave," Leask said.
"He was not physically confined," said Leask, instead preferring Mengering's description of psychological confinement.
"The combination of the violence and the threats frightened (McGregor) to the point that he was afraid to leave," Leask said.
McGregor was allowed out of the house to clean up dog feces, and to get food every couple days.
That was the only time McGregor could eat, Mengering said, which Leask questioned.
Mengering acknowledged it might seem ridiculous "but I saw how he looked... He was emaciated at the time he was taken from the crack shack."
That day came after about six weeks of this, in June 2012. Using an almost dead cell phone with no minutes, McGregor called 911.
"He whispered, 'Help me,' and then hung up," said Mengering, who was asking for jail time between 18 and 24 months.
Defence counsel Jason LeBlond said Bone has since realized the damage he's done.
"Some of that began to hit home," said LeBlond, describing him as "very remorseful" especially after reading the victim impact statement, where McGregor said he was depressed, sad and afraid.
A youth connected with the crime was previously sentenced to 24 days in custody and a two year probation for unlawful confinement and assault with a weapon.
LeBlond said Bone was reluctant to discuss the Crown's suggestion that a male relative was making the decisions but said Bone was not the mastermind of the operation.
"The people that were there, Mr. McGregor, my client and even (the youth). None of these people were in a particularly good situation. None of these people were really..."
"In control," Leask suggested.
"Yes, in control. All of these people were in a really bad place and were unwilling to talk about the details of what was going on there and who was involved."
As part of his conditions, Bone is prevented from having contact with that relative, or with youth or McGregor.
LeBlond said Bone, who has graduated high school, has worked various jobs since his arrest, but that finding work has been hard. LeBlond highlighted Bone's good behaviour, with no breaches of probation.
Court heard letters of support from Bone's mother and father.
"Christopher has made some bad choices but I believe he has learned from them. He is not the same person he was," his mother wrote.
Leask also noted Bone was 19 at the time and the guilty plea saved the victim from having to testify as mitigating factors.
The Crown acknowledged that the case might be difficult to prosecute.
"I am satisfied that remorse is genuine," said Leask of Bone, after handing him two years, less a day, of evening curfew and several conditions as well as a further two years of probation.
Bone also has a 10-year firearms ban, must submit a DNA sample and write an apology to McGregor within 30 days.
