Man gets year in jail for unlawful confinement
A Lethbridge man who threatened to hurt another individual, then two weeks later blindfolded and abducted a 16-year-old youth, has received a one-year jail sentence.
Royer Sopal Caldera, who will also be on probation for 18 months after he is released, pleaded guilty last week in Lethbridge provincial court to charges of unlawful confinement, extortion, possession of a weapon for a dangerous purpose and intimidation.
The first incident occurred at about 8 p.m. on Aug. 12, 2021 when several individuals approached a person at the SLP Skate Park on Parkside Drive South. During the subsequent altercation, Sopal Caldera told the victim to follow their instructions or he would be harmed, and another assailant read the victim’s address from his driver’s licence and told him they would “visit” him if he reported the incident.
A little less than two weeks later, at about 10:46 p.m. on Aug. 25, Sopal Caldera, who was 18 years old at the time, was involved in another altercation at the Legacy Ridge Skate Park on the northside. He and three youths, who were looking for another individual, forced a 16-year-old boy into a vehicle, placed a balaclava over his head, and demanded he tell them where to find their other intended victim or they would hurt him.
The attackers took the boy to a nearby lake, threatened him with an imitation firearm, which the youth believed was real, and Sopal Caldera told him to choose between getting shot or jumping into the lake. He was pushed into the lake and the group drove away.
Sopal Caldera was arrested the following day and confessed to police, admitting that he and the co-accused blindfolded the victim, prevented him from leaving the vehicle, and threatened him with a pellet gun.
The Crown had sought a penitentiary sentence between two and three years, while Calgary lawyer Matthew Walton recommended a jail sentence of six months and three years probation. Walton also suggested that a suspended sentence up to nine months would even be in the range.
Judge Timothy Hironaka expressed concern with Walton’s recommendation, however, and noted that the pre-sentence report prepared for Sopal Caldera indicates he is not remorseful for his actions and even blames the victim.
“I’m surprised and concerned that you have not reached the point where you understand the terror that victim had to be feeling,” Hironaka told Sopal Caldera. “I can’t think of many things that would be worse. It’s imperative, in my view, in order for you to live a productive, decent life, that you’ve got to come to grips with that.”
Walton said while his client does not fully understand the consequences of his actions, counselling can address those concerns. He also said Sopal Caldera recalls that during his childhood he and his father would engage in “physical altercations.”
“So it does appear that anger and violence have been instilled in him.”
As part of his probation, Sopal Caldera must be assessed and receive counselling as directed by his probation officer, including counselling for anger management and life skills. He is also prohibited from possessing weapons for 10 years and he is to provide a sample of his DNA for the National DNA Databank.