A P.E.I. man who held two people against their will and threatened to kill one of them as he demanded payment of a $5,000 debt owed to someone else was sentenced recently to one year in jail.
In a recent decision, P.E.I. Supreme Court Chief Justice Tracey Clements accepted a joint recommendation for 43-year-old Robin Jason Cudmore, who pleaded guilty to assault with a weapon, uttering death threats and two counts of forcible confinement.
An agreed statement of facts was prepared for the case, and the court heard the two victims got a ride with someone they asked to drive them to Charlottetown. That driver detoured after telling the victims she needed to make a stop to meet with her former boyfriend.
The court heard that when the driver stopped, she got out of the vehicle and Cudmore got in, later demanding $5,000 that was owed to one of his friends.
After both victims said they didn’t have the money, Cudmore forced one of them out of the vehicle and hit him on the buttocks with a pair of chain locks that were also referred to as a wrench. Cudmore then told one of the victims he would kill him if the man didn’t come up with the money.
He also took the victim’s boots, snow pants, coat, wallet and cellphone.
The court heard the second victim said she had money in her bank account and was taken to Charlottetown, although it turned out she didn’t have any money to withdraw.
Cudmore stayed with the man he had threatened to kill and continued the threats, including that he would harm the second victim if they didn’t get him the money.
Eventually, the victims were let go after about nine hours and told if they didn’t come up with the money by the next day they would be killed.
A victim-impact statement was prepared for the case in which the two victims described the incident as the “most traumatizing time” in their lives. They also reported struggling with anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression.
The court heard Cudmore had a prior criminal record that included convictions in 2013 for invitation to sexual touching of someone younger than 16 and sexual assault.
In accepting the joint recommendation, Clements sentenced Cudmore to one year on each offence, all to be served concurrently.
He will also be on probation for two years after his release, during which time he will be subject to electronic monitoring if directed.
Cudmore must also provide a DNA sample for the national databank and will be subject to a weapons prohibition.
