By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Former Lethbridge man sentenced in 2011 kidnapping, torture case

Mar 19, 2018 | 2:43 PM

LETHBRIDGE – The fourth and final member of a group who abducted and tortured a Lethbridge man over a drug debt in 2011, has been sentenced after entering guilty pleas Monday morning, Mar. 19.

John Edward Reynolds was handed a three-year prison sentence, at what was supposed to be the outset of a voir dire to examine charter issues, ahead of a one-week trial in June.

Through an agreed statement of facts that was given to the court following the guilty pleas, the 28-year-old former Lethbridge man admitted that he was aware of a drug deal in July of 2011, which involved two individuals and the victim. The victim was to pay the two others $3,200 for marijuana and provided them with what appeared to be a roll of cash. Instead, he had rolled one or two bills around paper and bound it with an elastic, only giving them approximately $100.

When Reynolds learned of the deception, he went to the victim’s home on the night of July 25, 2011 – along with Charles Morrison-Lonie, Kory Bourassa and Adrien Theriault. Reynolds, Morrison-Lonie and Theriault knocked on the door while wearing masks and with the latter two carrying firearms provided by Reynolds. They used a noxious substance to render the victim unconscious, loaded him into the trunk of the vehicle driven by Bourassa, and proceeded to an acreage near Turin that was owned by Reynolds.

A woman who was in the home at the time was not harmed and called 911 after they left.

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The victim was placed on a chair in a shop on Reynolds’ property, with his eyes covered by duct tape and a burlap sack over his head. Over the next five hours, the victim was hit with the dull end of a machete, assaulted with a pair of garden shears, kicked, punched and slapped. Gasoline was also poured over his head while his attackers threatened to light him on fire, and he was threatened about paying back the money. It was noted that Reynolds was not present for about one-hour of the assault.

Following the prolonged assault, the victim was driven to the outskirts of Coaldale where he was dumped out of the vehicle, partially naked, and told to walk home. He walked to a farm house where he called for help and was then taken to the Chinook Regional Hospital for treatment.

The doctor conducting the victim’s examination noted second-degree burns from gasoline splash and cigarette burns; blisters on his spine, shoulder blade, and back; lacerations on his hands; belt marks on his back; a shoe mark on his face; and multiple bruises.

An investigation by the Lethbridge Police Service led them to the four individuals involved and Reynolds’ property near Turin. Among a number of items recovered at the scene were several cellphones, one of which contained photos of the victim with the sack over his head, and with Morrison-Lonie posing with him.

Reynolds cooperated with police, providing them with a statement and walking them through what happened on his property.

“[Reynolds] described [the victim] being at his acreage and described the entire episode as ‘moral correction’ to save [the victim] from being hurt worse at a later time and to free him from his past actions,” stated Crown prosecutor Dawn Janecke, as she continued to read from the statement.

He also wrote an apology letter to the victim, which he titled “The apology of sinful action.”

Sentence

The three-year prison sentence was presented to the court as a joint submission prepared by the Crown and defence, which was agreed to and imposed by the judge.

The judge also agreed to a request that he recommend Reynolds serve his sentence at the Whitehorse Correctional Centre in the Yukon, allowing him to be close to his wife and two children.

Before being taken into custody to begin serving his sentence, Reynolds hugged and kissed his mother, telling her, “Take good care of yourself, mom.”

Co-accused

As noted at the beginning of the story, Reynolds was the final member of the group to enter guilty pleas.

In 2012, Morrison-Lonie and Theriault were each given five-years, as they used firearms during the home invasion and kidnapping.

Then, in 2014, Bourassa received two-years for his part, with the Crown pointing out that he didn’t enter the victim’s home during the abduction.

Delays in the case

The reason for Reynolds’ resolution coming years after the co-accused, was due to a pair of cancelled trial dates along the way.

The first was called-off in 2015 due to health issues for Reynolds, who suffered spinal damage in a collision with a drunk driver in 2011.

The second came when Reynolds waived the case to Whitehorse for the purpose of entering a guilty plea. When he refused to do so, the matter was returned to Lethbridge, but after the 2016 trial date had been cancelled.

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