Man sentenced to 15 months for holding victim captive

A man in his thirties, Ari Rúnarsson, has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for holding a man against his will at his home in Akureyri, threatening a police officer and stealing beef from a Krónan grocery store, mbl.is reports.

The ruling was issued last month by the Eastern North Iceland District Court.

The most serious offence took place in March 2023, when the victim went to Rúnarsson’s home. The court found it proven that Rúnarsson restrained the man to a chair with adhesive tape, threatened him and forced him to call his father to obtain money. The victim was held for at least four hours, until police arrived.

DNA from Rúnarsson and the victim was found on tape seized by police in the apartment. The victim’s father also told the court that his son had called him crying and frightened, saying he was being held and threatened with physical harm unless money was provided.

Not convicted of robbery

Rúnarsson was also charged with assaulting the man, threatening him with a knife, scissors and hypodermic needles, and taking his phone, computers and other belongings.

However, the court found it unproven that Rúnarsson had assaulted the man, threatened him with the weapons or taken his belongings. He was therefore not convicted of robbery.

Rúnarsson was also convicted of threatening a police officer several days later. Recordings from police body cameras supported the officers’ accounts of the threats.

He admitted stealing beef worth 29,375 Icelandic krónur from the Krónan store on Tryggvabraut in Akureyri in November 2024.

When determining the sentence, the court considered Rúnarsson’s criminal record. According to the ruling, he has received 13 criminal convictions since 2016. He was also ordered to pay more than 3.37 million krónur in legal costs.