Man stole dog, held spider to ransom and hid child in cupboard

A Leavenworth man was sentenced to prison Friday for two court cases including one that involved a threat over a pet spider, according to a prosecution official. Bryan Paul Smith, 26, was sentenced to total of 4.5 years in prison. In March, he pleaded no contest to making a criminal threat. The charge stemmed from an incident in which Smith had been watching a pet spider for the victim in the case.
When the victim asked for the spider back, Smith reportedly began making demands for money and expressed his desire to keep the spider, according to County Attorney Todd Thompson. The demands turned into threats when Smith reportedly said he would kill the victim unless he was given $100 and allowed to keep the spider. The victim called the police. While the police were on the scene with the victim, Smith called and asked if the victim was ready to “do this thing,” according to Thompson.

Smith was ordered to serve 14 months in prison in this case. Smith also pleaded no contest to charges involving a string of car burglaries committed around the Jan. 14. The police arrested Smith and Justin Wilder after conducting an investigation of the burglaries. Wilder, who was convicted and sentenced to serve 10 months, admitted to police that he would break into the cars while Smith acted as a lookout, according to Thompson.

Smith and Wilder also reportedly stole items from Wal-Mart. And Smith stole a Siberian husky dog. The police found the dog in Smith’s residence. When police were investigating the crimes at Smith’s residence, they also found a 14-year-old juvenile hiding in a closet, according to Thompson. Smith plead no contest to 10 charges that included one count of contributing to a child’s misconduct, three counts of burglary, five counts of theft and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Smith was sentenced to serve 40 months in prison in this case.