Greed and cruelty, which has already cost three members of Kingston’s drug culture roughly 13 to 13 and a half months of their freedom, will cost them between 10 and 23 further months now that they’ve owned up to holding a fellow drug user hostage for three days and beating him in a bid to make him give up millions he never had.

Ildemar Ribeiro, 50, Tyler E. Roberts, 30, and Robert T. Spicer, 28, were scheduled in Kingston’s Ontario Court of Justice for a preliminary hearing on a long list of charges arising from the episode when assistant Crown attorney Jennifer Ferguson negotiated a resolution with their respective lawyers, Paul Blais, Michael Mandelcorn and Mark Snider.

Roberts and Spicer subsequently pleaded guilty to forcibly confining the victim between Jan. 9 and 12, 2018, assaulting him with a weapon — a collapsible baton — and attempting to rob him.

Ribeiro, who was involved with the victim for only a few hours, pleaded guilty to participating in his forcible confinement and beating him with a baton, but not to attempting to rob him.

Justice Larry O’Brien then accepted a joint sentencing recommendation from the lawyers and sentenced each of their clients in turn.

Ribeiro received a further 495 days in jail, in addition to enhanced credit on 390 days already served in pretrial custody — the equivalent of a three-year sentence — to be followed by three years of probation with a 9 p.m. to 9 a.m. curfew unless he’s working.

Roberts was given enhanced credit on the 407 days he’d already served in pretrial custody and was sentenced to a further 312 days in jail, deemed equivalent to just over two and a half years total, in custody. He will also be on probation for three years following his release and was barred by the judge from possessing weapons, “especially expandable batons” or knives except for eating and food preparation.

Spicer, who was identified in court as the principle assailant in the beatings and who also happened to be subject to a police-issued release undertaking when he committed his crimes, was sentenced to 698 days in jail in addition to enhanced credit on his 386 days of pretrial custody, equivalent to about three and a half years behind bars, followed by three years of probation with a 9 p.m. to 9 a.m curfew.

Justice Larry O’Brien, in sentencing Spicer, noted “it’s not his first venture into the criminal justice system” and warned him that “three years is a long time to have a curfew.”

“If you come out of the slammer and run with the same crowd,” the judge said, “you will go to jail. You’re not getting short, sharp [sentences] for your breaches.”

The victim of the crime, Justice O’Brien was given to understand, is not from around here. According to a synopsis of events, submitted to the court by Crown prosecutor Ferguson, he was released from jail and decided to stay in Kingston, although he had a very limited circle of acquaintances here.

By the week of Jan 8, 2018, however, Kingston Police were told the man owed money; had stolen from other drug users, and was believed to have unwisely told someone that he planned to rob a drug dealer known to his assailants. Even more unwisely, he’d been telling people about a large — and entirely imaginary — inheritance he had from his grandfather, which he claimed was being administered by a trustee. Justice O’Brien was told the victim has mental health problems, and one of the witnesses who spoke to police said he told Roberts and Spicer he had millions and would give them a couple thousand dollars each. He even promised to call his trustee in the morning to set it up.

But people were angry with him, and that week, according to the synopsis, the victim was taken to Roberts’ home on Lansdowne Street, ironically by the very drug dealer he was supposed to be planning to rip off. There, the dealer sold to him and the victim retired to Roberts’ bathroom to shoot up. Police were later told he was in there a long time because he had trouble finding a vein, and when he emerged, Roberts and the drug dealer had been joined by at least three more men.

Ribeiro and Spicer hadn’t yet arrived, but police were told the newcomers, with encouragement from Roberts, beat the victim and stole what money he did have. The man later claimed to police that he was struck on the head with a pipe, lost consciousness, and woke to find himself bound with duct tape to a chair. Justice O’Brien was told the men involved deny there was any duct tape, however.

Someone in the group found the victim’s bank card in his shoe and he was beaten again to make him give up his PIN.

Roberts and the drug dealer then left to check out his bank account, which proved to be empty.

Spicer arrived while they were gone, according to the police synopsis, and some time after Roberts and the dealer returned, Spicer and one of the woman in the house took their captive downtown and tried to have him withdraw money from an ATM, but that didn’t work, either.

The victim then attempted to mollify his captors by telling them he had multiple pairs of Air Jordan shoes in a room at the Kozy Inn. Spicer and some others took him there, but the shoes were also a lie.

It was there that “Big Al” Ribeiro joined the group. The synopsis says that he and Spicer got very angry when they learned there never had been any shoes. It recounts that they took their victim into a bedroom, where witnesses later told police the man cowered in a corner while Ribeiro beat him with a baton and Spicer punched and kicked him. The witnesses also estimated the attack continued over 45 minutes before Spicer was taken by taxi to his next destination.

Over three days, the judge was told, the man was moved between various houses in the city and intermittently assaulted. During that time, Spicer also had him try to cash a stolen cheque for $1,200 at what the synopsis describes as a “Money Mart-type place.” That wasn’t successful, either. An employee of the cheque-cashing business advised Spicer that a cheque that large needed to be certified before it could be cashed.

In an attempt to accomplish that, on the third day of the victim’s captivity Spicer and a second man whose identity isn’t certain, took the victim to the BMO branch at 42 Bath Rd. Their intention was to have him open an account there so he could get the $1,200 cheque certified.

Once alone with one of the bank employees in her office, however, the victim was able to alert her to the fact that he was being compelled. She could see that his face was bruised and swollen and he told her he’d already endured three days of beatings. His escort, realizing the jig was up, left by the front door. Ferguson told the judge the victim was treated at hospital, where he was found to have a broken nose and finger and extensive bruising to his face, head, neck, torso and arms.

syanagisawa@postmedia.com