A young man who bashed a dealer and tied him to a tree after he was disappointed with the quality of the drugs he'd bought has been jailed in Melbourne.
Dylan Ferguson, 23, who launched the 2014 attack with a group of co-offenders was sentenced on Tuesday to five months' jail and must comply with an 18-month community corrections order when he is released.
Ferguson met the victim in a Kealba car park in November 2014, the Victorian County Court heard.
The victim had arranged for a drug supplier - who sat nearby in a van - to sell Ferguson methylamphetamine, or ice.
Ferguson handed over more than $1000 but demanded his money back after sampling the product and finding it of poor quality.
The supplier had already left, so Ferguson told the victim he had to pay instead, producing a metal pole from his car.
Ferguson then punched the victim and ordered him to get in the vehicle.
He was assaulted by Ferguson and three others as he was driven around St Albans, Sunshine, Taylors Lakes and Werribee.
One offender held a jet lighter near his eye, and Ferguson threatened him with a knife, Judge Liz Gaynor said.
The victim was bound with cable ties and tied to a tree, where he was hit with bottles.
He was eventually set free by Ferguson and went to a nearby home to seek help, his hands still bound with cable ties.
Ferguson, who most recently lived at Numurkah, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, assault and drug offences.
The court heard he displayed behavioural problems as a child and began using cannabis in his early teens before progressing to ice.
The 23-year-old took part in a drug program in NSW earlier this year while serving time for an unrelated matter and benefited from it.
Judge Gaynor said the program had enhanced Ferguson's prosects of rehabilitation, which was in the best interest of the community, particularly given his young age.
Ferguson's corrections order includes 150 hours of community work, monitoring and drug, alcohol and mental health treatment.
He has already served four months in pre-sentence custody.
