Two men were sentenced Wednesday afternoon for kidnapping a DHL delivery truck driver in a scheme to steal half-a-million-dollars worth of prescription drugs. It happened last December in Cheektowaga. One defendant rear-ended the DHL truck and then when the truck driver got out to check the damage the other defendant tied him up and threatened him with a gun. It was all part of a plot to steal the prescription drugs on board.

Two of the defendants in the case who pled guilty to second degree kidnapping last August stood before Erie County Court Judge Sheila DiTullio on Wednesday, admitted their guilt, and offered apologies to the victim as well as their own families.

"I feel as if I let down my family. I've been a big disappointment," said 20-year-old Eric Rowsey, who prosecutors say was the gunman in the heist.

27-year-old Jason Preston admits he was addicted to prescription pain killers and that led to his involvement in the violent plot. "Because of them (drugs) I made the worst decision that affected everyone I love especially my daughter," said a tearful Preston, "Because of my selfishness my daughter has to grow up without a father."

Preston's role in the heist was causing the accident and for that he'll serve seven years behind bars. Rowsey received eight years. "You were the one who had the gun," said Judge DiTullio to Rowsey, "So to say that you were part of this but not a big part the court just can't buy that. You were an active participant and you participated in one of the most violent aspects of the case."

Rowsey's sentence is the maximum agreed to under the plea deal. The defense attorneys argued for less harsh sentences by saying Rowsey and Preston were mere pawns in the plot. "They weren't the ones who came up with this plan," says Jeremy Schwartz, "They could not have done this without the inside individual and help from the other individual and that's why I characterize them as pawns."

Lemuele Jackson and Aaron Ruffins are the ones prosecutors say were behind the plot. They recently pleaded guilty after learning Rowsey and Preston would testify against them. Jackson learns his sentence next week and Ruffins is scheduled for sentencing in January.