A Canberra man who helped detain three people as part of a drug dealer's plot to scare a rival cannabis seller has avoided time behind bars.
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Bevan Tod Smith, 23, told police he was "only the driver" in a drug deal that went awry in Canberra's northern suburbs on May 25 last year.
He pleaded guilty to three counts of unlawful confinement the day his ACT Supreme Court trial was set to start in June.
A statement of facts tendered in court said Smith was in the car when his co-offender met another drug dealer in a Bonner carpark to pay $3500 for nearly a kilogram of cannabis.
The pair had approached the dealer's car window as Smith's co-offender allegedly brandished a sawn-off shotgun and demanded the dealer get out of the car and lay on the ground.
He told the man's partner and another woman, who were also in the vehicle, they wouldn't get hurt if they stayed quiet.
Court documents said the woman's partner feared for her life and began to shake uncontrollably as the co-offender shut the car's doors so they couldn't get out.
Smith's co-offender allegedly told the man he'd been looking for him for a long time and shouted: "You have been f---ing up my business for years. Finally, I have found you. You are going to disappear tonight."
He then got in the Holden Commodore and told the man to drive to Gungahlin as Smith followed behind in a Ford Falcon.
The man approached a police car as they cars were driving along Gungahlin Drive and had tried to slow down before the co-offender grabbed the steering wheel from his hands.
The two women managed to escape the car moments later and ran along the road towards police as they allegedly screamed hysterically "Gun, gun!".
Smith's co-offender fled and arranged for Smith to pick him up.
Police stopped the car with the pair inside a short time later and the men were arrested.
Prosecutor Anthony Williamson told a sentence hearing on Monday while Smith's co-offender had been the main instigator and he got involved with the plot "at the eleventh hour", he still bore significant responsibility.
He noted the three victims were confined for about 20 minutes and had been subjected to extreme threats of violence in the co-offender's attempt to protect his cannabis dealing business.
Defence barrister James Sabharwal said Smith had excellent prospects for rehabilitation and pushed for a suspended sentence, which was not opposed by the Crown.
Justice John Burns sentenced Smith to two years and three months imprisonment, to be fully suspended upon him entering a three-year good behaviour order.
He also ordered he perform 300 hours community service.
