(KIM ANDERSON / iNFOnews.ca)

A Kamloops man was sentenced to just under five and a half years in prison today for his participation in a kidnapping and armed robbery that spanned from Kamloops to Kelowna last year.

Justin Daniels, 40, was one of three participants in a crime spree that began in Kamloops on the evening of Feb. 13, 2020. He pleaded guilty to charges of robbery using a firearm, kidnapping and assault and was sentenced in Kamloops Law Courts today, Oct. 9.

Court heard today that Daniels and two accomplices, Robert James Rennie, born in 1987, and Michael James Mathieson, born in 1982, had been planning the robbery of an individual, Shay Duncan, for several days.

On the evening of Feb. 13, the three men were driven to the Hospitality Inn by James Walker who they beat, burned with a lighter and tasered in a room upon arrival. Walker was robbed by the men, who took his wallet and keys to his vehicle.

Daniels and Mathieson left the motel in Walker’s truck and arrived at the Acadian Inn at 3 a.m. Feb. 14, wearing masks and armed with guns. They entered a motel room and lured Shay Duncan to the unit.

Shay Duncan arrived with his girlfriend and a friend. Duncan and his friend were hog-tied, strip searched below the waist and robbed by Mathieson and Daniels. Duncan was questioned by the two men about his place of residence and what would be found there.

Daniels and Mathieson took Duncan’s girlfriend with them from the motel in Duncan’s vehicle so that she could provide them access to his residence, and threatened that they would sexually assault her if she did not comply.

Police found Duncan’s residence on Dallas Drive ransacked later that day.

READ MORE: Primary investigator in Valentine's Day kidnapping testifies in Kamloops court

RCMP traced the cellphones of the kidnapped victim and one of the accused to a residence in downtown Kelowna Feb. 14. Daniels was located at that residence and was arrested.

Police found Walker’s vehicle keys, and Duncan’s vehicle keys and wallet in Daniels’ possession.

Police later stopped a vehicle near Falkland north of Vernon and found the kidnapped woman uninjured Feb. 15. Firearms were also seized from the vehicle.

Crown lawyer Marko Vojvodic said today that Daniels was immediately forthcoming with police upon his arrest, and did not seek bail until June 19, 2020.

Thus far, Daniels had served the equivalent of 492 actual days in custody. In a joint submission, Crown and defence counsel asked that Daniels serve seven and a half years total, less time served.

Justice Dev Dley agreed with the recommendation. After accounting for time served, Daniels will serve another five years and a half years in prison, with a life-long prohibition on firearms.

Mathieson’s trial is currently underway, and he is charged with robbery, using an imitation firearm and unlawful confinement. Rennie is facing a charge of assault causing bodily harm.

READ MORE: Trial over Valentine's Day kidnapping that caused chaos from Kelowna to Kamloops underway

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