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Five accused in Estevan kidnapping matter given jail time

Following a May 2011 incident in which three people were kidnapped and assaulted by a group of seven local men and women, five will be serving jail time of between 10 and 30 months.
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Top row (L to R): Amanda Knebush, Dustin MacNeil Bottom row: Jessica Smith, Ronald Himmelspeck


Following a May 2011 incident in which three people were kidnapped and assaulted by a group of seven local men and women, five will be serving jail time of between 10 and 30 months.

The remaining two accused still have their matters to be dealt with at later dates, but Mark Davis, 26, Ronald Himmelspeck, 21, Dustin MacNeil, 21, Jessica Smith, 22, and Amanda Knebush, 20, were all present in Estevan provincial court on Jan. 22 for sentencing. Those five individuals previously pleaded guilty, with the three men pleading to charges of forcible confinement and assault with a weapon, while the two women each pleaded guilty to one count of forcible confinement. A number of other charges were stayed by Crown prosecutor Chris White.

White said there were a number of aggravating factors including the nature of the kidnapping, as he noted one victim was forced into the trunk of a vehicle.

"There were certainly threats. There was physical confrontation on the roadside in a remote location, away from police, away from any manner of assistance," said White. "It certainly appeared to be planned to a certain extent, but it does smell a bit like a crime of impulse."

The incident stemmed from a disagreement between MacNeil and the victims. They were unhappy with the cocaine they purchased from MacNeil and went back to his residence that night. When they found nobody home, they broke in and stole some items including drugs.

The following morning the female victim was confronted by five of the co-accused about the break-in.
Davis did a lot of the talking for the group, asking where the drugs were that had been taken. White said he was brought along to be the "muscle," but didn't have any specific ties to the original sale of the drugs.

"It was not his fight initially, but he took it on with gusto," White told the court.

The victim denied taking the drugs, suggesting the two men she was with must have taken them and gave up the males' whereabouts. The group went to the house to confront the two males, who also both denied taking the drugs.

Smith called the female victim and told her to meet them at the Co-op grocery store. The victim sent a text to her father, requesting that he call the police if he didn't hear from her in 20 minutes, and then went to the Co-op.

The accused were driving two cars. The two male victims were with them in the vehicles when the female arrived. They drove east of the city, past Shand Power Station to a grid road.

Once they stopped, everybody got out of the cars. White noted that Davis had a bat, as well as "an item that looked an awful lot like a firearm and was represented as such.

"Things could get worse at that point in time, and they did," added White.

There was a confrontation among the men, where the accused were telling them to return the drugs or else, but the victims continued to deny having the drugs.

"At that point things got physical. All the individuals participated in assaulting the male victims," said White, noting that the female victim was not assaulted, and Smith and Knebush did not take part.

Davis, MacNeil and Himmelspeck began to assault one of the males, and the other male attempted to run away. He was run down by the three men and struck with the bat five times according to the female.

She began to bargain with the captors, giving MacNeil $60 that she had on her. He gave the money to Smith. She then contacted her father and said she needed $1,000, which the accused considered a sufficient payment.

One of the male victims was forced into the trunk of a vehicle and they drove back into the city.
They were going to meet her father at Spectra Credit Union, but when they saw a police cruiser nearby decided not to stop, continuing on to the corner of 13th Avenue and First Street. They let the victim out of the trunk, putting him in the backseat and then Davis took off down an alley. The two males were eventually released and the female was driven to the Husky at the corner of Fourth Street and Souris Avenue and let go. She went straight over to the credit union where she met her dad and some police officers.

Shortly thereafter, six of the accused were arrested. Davis fled to British Columbia and after a warrant went out for his arrest, was captured in July by the Burnaby RCMP.

White said the two males had some injuries, such as cuts and bruises. No victim impact statements were filed for the sentencing.

White noted each of the accused spent some time in custody after their arrests, including Davis who spent roughly six months on remand, but that time was not considered for sentencing.

Davis received 30 months, the longest sentence due to his previous record and his possession of an imitation of a firearm during the incident. Himmelspeck and MacNeil each received 20-month jail sentences.

Smith and Knebush were both sentenced to 10 months in jail. Each had pleaded guilty to one count of forcible confinement.

All five accused must submit a DNA sample to be registered and will be subject to a mandatory 10-year firearms ban.

Following sentencing by Judge Karl Bazin's, the five individuals exchanged hugs with supporters in the gallery before being led out in handcuffs.