Kidnapping earns man 42-month prison term

A 28-year-old Edmonton man was handed a 42-month sentence Monday for a drugrelated kidnapping that a Crown prosecutor says simply “petered out” over a weekend.

Aaron Philip Bundschuh pleaded guilty to playing a key role in the June 2012 kidnapping over a $1,200 debt owed by a 31-year-old meth dealer.

“This does not seem to be a more sophisticated kidnapping scheme,” said Crown prosecutor Lawrence Van Dyke.

In April 2012, Bundschuh and the woman had a falling out over the money. The woman insisted she didn’t owe Bundschuh anything, then ended up behind bars on an unrelated matter.

On June 23, 2012, the day after she was released from the Edmonton Remand Centre, the woman and an acquaintance met a group of men at a convenience store in southeast Edmonton to sell some drugs. They got into a vehicle to get a ride back downtown.

The group drove instead down a secluded road just north of Whitemud Drive and 34th Street, where they were met by Bundschuh and another man, Mark Hennifent.

They threw the woman in the trunk and drove off. They drove to the Patricia Motel on 101st Avenue, where Bundschuh led the woman into a bathroom, punched her in the chin and demanded repayment. Hennifent — who received a four-year sentence for his role — duct taped her wrists, legs and mouth.

Following a second night, she heard Bundschuh leaving an adjacent room, then ran to a real estate office across the street. Police arrested Bundschuh later that day.

The victim has since left the city and gone into witness protection.