The man convicted of kidnapping and aggravated assault in the 2015 abduction and beating of Richard Suter received a 12-year prison sentence Wednesday.
In her ruling, Judge Elizabeth Johnson said “the acts were planned and deliberate, motivated by vengeance.”
Steven Gordon Vollrath was found guilty in June of kidnapping, aggravated assault, possession of a dangerous weapon and impersonating a peace officer.
Vollrath was one of three people who, in January 2015, dressed as a police officer and went to a southwest Edmonton home. The trio demanded Suter come with them. The men drove Suter to a nearby field, where they cut off one of his thumbs and left him in the field, wearing only a bathrobe.
READ MORE: ‘It must be some kind of vengeance,’ alleged drunk driver says of abduction, beating
After Johnson read her decision, Crown Prosecutor Jim Stewart said he was satisfied with the prison term. He had been asking for a 15-year sentence.
“My position all along was that series of deliberate acts on the part of Mr. Vollrath deserved a significant consequence and that’s what Judge Johnson delivered today,” Stewart said.
READ MORE: Edmonton man found guilty of cutting off Richard Suter’s thumb
Vollrath maintains he had nothing to do with the attack. His lawyer, Paul Moreau, was seeking a sentence of between five to eight years.
“Of course he’s facing a very long term in prison now,” Moreau said. “Understandably, he’s very unhappy about that.
“He feels he’s the victim of mistaken identity and feels he’s been set up.”
During the attack, Suter testified he asked why the men were doing this to him. He says one of the assailants responded by asking him if he had hurt anyone and “if the baby died.”
In May of 2013, Suter was behind the wheel of an SUV that crashed into a south Edmonton restaurant patio, killing two-year-old Geo Mounsef.
Suter was arrested and charged with refusing to provide a breath sample. He pleaded guilty in June of 2015 and was sentenced to four months behind bars.
Both the Crown and defence appealed the sentence.
READ MORE: Richard Suter’s lawyer will ask Supreme Court to appeal sentence for deadly Edmonton patio crash
In August 2016, Alberta’s Court of Appeal ruled Suter’s sentence was unfit and replaced it with a 26-month prison sentence. Last month, Suter’s lawyer said he is considering seeking leave to appeal the longer sentence to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Vollrath is the only person to be implicated in Suter’s attack. It also isn’t known why the career criminal felt compelled to avenge Geo Mounsef’s death. There is no evidence connecting Vollrath with either Suter or Mounsef.
The Crown said police will continue to look into those questions.
“It’s an open investigation,” Stewart said. “There’s no doubt that there were two other people and if other evidence exists, I’m sure the Edmonton Police Service will do whatever it can to obtain it.”
Vollrath has 10.5 years left on his sentence after credit for time served.