American couple kidnapped and kidnapped | The jurors begin to deliberate

The jurors at the trial of Gary Arnold, accused of kidnapping and kidnapping a sixty-year-old American couple in September 2020, began their deliberations late Tuesday afternoon in Montreal.

Sandra and James Helm were abducted by several individuals from their residence in Moira, New York, in the late evening of September 27, 2020 and freed by members of the United States Security Quebec two days later in a chalet in Magog in Estrie.

The aim of the suspects was to obtain a ransom after the grandson of the American couple had been arrested, and the cocaine he was transporting seized in Vermont a few days earlier, within the framework of an investigation by the Drug United States Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Long sentences for defendants

Jurors were unaware during the trial that four of Arnold’s co-defendants in the case pleaded guilty and were convicted, one of whom received a 15-year sentence.

The latter, Franco D’Onofrio, 57, participated in the kidnapping of the couple and was present at the Magog chalet during the two days that the kidnapping lasted.

Franco D’Onofrio took an active part in the affair, in particular by calling or sending text messages several times to the son of the couple, and by taking a photo of the two sixties shortly after their arrival at the chalet in Magog.

D’Onofrio had previously received long sentences for cocaine cases and was on parole during the events of September 2020.

Kosmas Dritsas, 51, who was also present during the kidnapping and forcible confinement in the Magog chalet, was also on parole in September 2020. He also has a heavy criminal history and was sentenced to a 13 years.

His father, George Dritsas, who was present in the Magog cabin during the sequestration, was sentenced to six years in prison, while Taylor Lawrence Martin, a resident of Akwesasne where the police believed the sixties were prisoners in the investigation began, was sentenced to 51 months in prison.

All of these settlements were covered by a publication ban due to the jury trial of Arnold, who is the only defendant who opted to stand trial.

This ban is lifted now that the jurors are sequestered to deliberate and do not have access to outside news.

Hells Angels cocaine?

According to the Prosecution’s theory, Gary Arnold, a farmer by profession, was one of those responsible for the kidnapping, but Arnold testified at his trial, explaining that he was involved in the affair under duress, and that he took no part in the kidnapping or confinement of the Helms.

Since D’Onofrio and Kosmas Dritsas were arrested while still on parole, the parole was revoked in both cases.

In their decisions, the parole board members write that the cocaine seized during the Helms’ grandson’s arrest belonged to the Hells Angels.

The name of a member of the Hells Angels from the Montreal branch appeared in two text messages intercepted by the Crimes against the person police officers of the Sûreté du Québec, but nothing in the evidence demonstrated the latter’s involvement .

To reach Daniel Renaud, dial 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of La Presse.