photo by: Douglas County Sheriff's Office

Left to right: Sean P. McCawley, Stephanie A. Wiggins, Jason V. Spaniol

Two co-defendants have been sentenced in a case in which the victim told police that three fellow meth users accused him of “snitching” and held him in a basement for hours while they threatened him with a switchblade and a smoking-hot hammer.

All three suspects reportedly smoked methamphetamine at the beginning of their interrogation of the victim, during which they blamed him for pending drug charges against them, the Journal-World previously reported. They were first charged in February 2019.

Sean McCawley, 43, of Lawrence, and Stephanie Wiggins, 39, of Shawnee, were both sentenced last week in Douglas County District Court. Both had been set to go to trial in March; however, both defendants took plea agreements instead.

The victim told police that about a week and a half earlier he’d gone to McCawley’s house to buy $300 of methamphetamine for an acquaintance and ended up held against his will there for around three hours. He told police that Wiggins sat down next to him with a 6-inch “stiletto” style switchblade knife, which she opened and closed multiple times and demanded, “Tell me what the (expletive) you told them,” the Journal-World previously reported. He said Wiggins also hit him in the face multiple times.

The third co-defendant, Jason Spaniol, 41, of Lawrence, was accused of threatening the victim by heating the claw end of a hammer with a butane torch, holding it within “centimeters” of the victim’s leg and telling him, “people always talk when you put this (the hammer) on your leg,” according to the police affidavit in the case.

Wiggins told police that the victim, a 34-year-old man, was never tortured or held against his will, the Journal-World previously reported. The police affidavit supporting the three defendants’ arrests doesn’t include any questioning of McCawley.

McCawley had been charged with three felonies, two counts of kidnapping and one count of criminal threat, plus one misdemeanor count of criminal deprivation of property. He pleaded no contest to lesser offenses, two counts of attempted robbery, on March 10, according to court documents.

During a hearing on Friday, Judge Sally Pokorny sentenced McCawley to 59 months, or almost five years, in prison for his current case and two probation revocations. He is eligible for 20% good time credit, and he will have 12 months of post-release supervision. He will get credit for 519 days, or about 17 months, of time served. He must pay $150 in restitution, but the judge waived the rest of his costs.

In this case, Wiggins was initially charged with kidnapping, aggravated assault and criminal threat, all felonies, plus misdemeanor battery. In an agreement to resolve multiple cases, she entered no-contest pleas to felony charges of robbery, unlawfully tampering with electronic monitoring equipment and two counts of possession of methamphetamine, as well as one count of misdemeanor theft.

Wiggins was sentenced to 63 months in prison with 36 months of post-release supervision, Dorothy Kliem, trial assistant for the Douglas County district attorney’s office, said via email Monday. Wiggins is eligible for good time credit on some of the counts. She must pay $150 in restitution, and the judge waived her other costs. She has 303 days, or almost 10 months, of jail time credit, Kliem said.

“Ms. Wiggins has come to terms with her crippling addiction and accepts responsibility for her conduct,” her attorney, Joshua Seiden, said via email Tuesday morning. “Ms. Wiggins will use her time in custody to reflect on what led her there and looks forward to utilizing the rehabilitative programming available to her so that she may emerge as a productive member of society.”

Records in his case file indicate that Spaniol entered a plea agreement and was convicted of criminal threat and aggravated assault, both felonies, on Sept. 26. He had initially been charged with kidnapping as well. He was sentenced in December to 24 months of probation, the Journal-World previously reported. However, Spaniol was arrested on suspicion of a probation violation in May, and he has a hearing scheduled for next month, court and Douglas County Jail records show.

McCawley’s attorney, Jerry Wells, could not immediately be reached for comment Tuesday.