Prelim for kidnapping case

Photo: Deborah Pfeiffer

A preliminary inquiry will likely take place next year for the four men accused in a Penticton kidnapping and assault case.

Judge Meg Shaw made the decision at a pre-trial conference for the four men, Carey Anderson, John Szanto, Kerry Ellis and Albert Fontaine, in Penticton court on Thursday.

Anderson, who was released on bail last week, selected the trial by judge and jury, with a preliminary inquiry beforehand. All four will now follow that procedure.

On May 21, a Penticton man was kidnapped and seriously assaulted in the early morning hours.

The victim was found by a motorist in a ditch on Shingle Creek Road with a broken leg and restraints on his hands.

Four suspects were quickly identified, and Szanto was arrested the same day and charged with kidnapping, forcible confinement and aggravated assault. A warrant on the same charges was issued for Ellis and Fontaine.

Ellis was arrested in Summerland on May 22 and Fontaine was arrested in Abbotsford on July 1.

On Aug. 26, a warrant, with the additional charge of choking, was issued for Anderson. He was arrested in Osoyoos on Aug. 28.

All four have since been held in custody. A fifth man was arrested and released without charge.

In September, Szanto was sentenced to three years behind bars for a separate incident in which he assaulted a Penticton man in March.

Szanto had turned himself in on the March assault and was out of custody when he was allegedly involved in the kidnapping.

The length of the inquiry is expected to be 10 days.