James and Sandra Helm of Moira, N.Y., are seen being held captive in Quebec in 2020, in this court handout image received January 17, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Exhibit, Quebec Superior Court **MANDATORY CREDIT**
MONTREAL – A Quebec man found guilty in the 2020 kidnapping of a couple from Upstate New York has been sentenced to 13 years in prison.
Superior Court Justice Michel Pennou delivered the sentence for Gary Arnold today in a Montreal courtroom, adding that when time served is considered, the accused will spend nine years, two months and six days in prison.
The Crown was seeking a 17-year sentence for Arnold, who was found guilty by a jury in February of five charges, including kidnapping, extortion and conspiracy to kidnap.
Arnold’s trial heard he was part of a plot to abduct James and Sandra Helm of Moira, N.Y., in connection with what the Crown says was a botched drug deal involving their grandson.
The defence had been seeking 10 years in prison for Arnold, who argued during his trial that he had acted under threats and did not know anything about a kidnap plot.
The Crown says the couple in their 70s were kidnapped as leverage by a group of men who wanted to recover 50 kilograms of cocaine or $3.5 million cash, after their grandson had been arrested in Vermont six days earlier with the drugs.
The Helms were taken from their home, smuggled into Canada and held at a cottage in Magog, Que., for two days before they were rescued unharmed by a Quebec provincial police tactical unit on Sept. 29, 2020.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 17, 2023.
