(Montreal) Closing arguments were held Thursday at the trial of a Quebec man accused of kidnapping an elderly American couple, who were then smuggled into the province and held captive in the Eastern Townships.
Gary Arnold earlier told the jury that he was threatened by a man, known simply as ‘Big’, to perform various tasks, in September 2020. But he claims he never met the victims of the kidnapping and that he knew nothing of the plot.
In closing arguments, his attorney, John T. Pepper, insisted Thursday that Arnold feared for his family’s safety and was complying with orders under threat. He submitted to the jury that the Crown had not proven that his client knew of the kidnapping.
Arnold faces seven counts, including kidnapping, forcible confinement, extortion and conspiracy, stemming from the September 27, 2020 kidnapping of James and Sandra Helm in upstate New York.
We learned at trial that the couple had been kidnapped and brought to Quebec by boat, via the territory of Akwesasne, before being taken and sequestered in a chalet in Magog, in the Eastern Townships. The Helms were freed two days later by the Sûreté du Québec’s Tactical Intervention Group.
The Crown argued at trial that the two American eldest children were kidnapped in an attempt to recover 50 kilos of cocaine or 3.5 million in cash from their grandson.