Time served for man who jumped border

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This article was published 22/04/2020 (2102 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A man who jumped the Canadian border while fleeing from police in the United States has been sentenced to a little more than two months of time served.

Karmen Redshirt, 36, pleaded guilty in Brandon provincial court earlier this month to failing to present himself at the customs border contrary to the Customs Act, as well as failing to report goods.

Redshirt will be deported back to the United States, where he is also facing outstanding warrants in multiple states.

On Feb. 28, Canadian Border Services at the Boissevain point of entry were notified by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection that police were in pursuit of a vehicle heading northbound from Dunseith, N.D., according to a statement of facts.

Police tried to pull the truck over for a broken headlight and tail light, but the driver failed to stop and continued for more than 160 kilometres, despite two tires being destroyed after officers deployed a spike belt.

Border Services officers repositioned the port of entry across the primary lane, creating a barrier in an effort to direct the truck to stop under the primary inspection canopy, the statement of facts said.

However, the truck drove up at full highway speed, hitting a stop sign before blowing through the U.S. port of entry without slowing down.

Two left-side tires on the truck were missing, and the truck continued into Canada in a cloud of smoke and sparks.

RCMP were notified and found the truck pulled to the shoulder of the highway several kilometres away with two suspects in the backseat.

Redshirt was identified as the driver, and a search of the vehicle turned up a set of brass knuckles.

Redshirt and a woman who was in the passenger seat told officers they were held at gunpoint by a third person in the truck, who had taken off on foot.

RCMP called in the K9 unit, but it was determined that a third suspect did not exist.

Redshirt told police he didn’t know where he was going and didn’t know he had entered Canada, according to the statement.

When officers asked him how he didn’t know he entered Canada when he drove by the Canadian flag, Redshirt told them he “didn’t know Canada had its own flag.”

The passenger, however, told police when she saw the stop sign and the Canadian border she yelled at Redshirt to stop as she did not want to go into Canada, but Redshirt told her to “shut up.”

The woman had asked Redshirt for a ride home when the police pursuit occurred, she said, and Redshirt refused to stop despite her pleas for him to let her out.

She told police she considered jumping and rolling out of the moving vehicle, but was afraid she would be run over by the numerous police cars that were chasing them.

Redshirt has been in custody ever since, totalling 63 days after a credit for pre-sentence custody.

Crown attorney Matthew Sinclair told the court deterrence and denunciation was paramount in the circumstances of the case, which were extremely aggravating.

“To protect Canadians, those who cross our borders must be screened … Mr. Redshirt disregarded this process,” Sinclair said, recommending a sentence of six months in jail.

Defence lawyer Andrew Synyshyn argued a sentence of time served would be more appropriate, given the extreme circumstances of COVID-19 and the fact a longer sentence would mean a longer deportation hold.

“With all due respect, we appreciate Mr. Redshirt visiting us, but I think I speak for everyone when I say it would be time for Mr. Redshirt to return home as quickly as possible,” Synyshyn said. “He entered this country illegally … and he should be removed.”

Synyshyn also noted Redshirt wasn’t smuggling goods or people over the border and that it was a fairly unsophisticated and spontaneous offence.

“Sorry about everything I did, I didn’t plan it,” Redshirt told the court through video. “I’m facing prosecution in multiple states … that’s why I was trying to get away. I wasn’t trying to hurt nobody.”

Judge John Combs said a sentence of time served — 63 days — was appropriate in the circumstances, noting Redshirt will be facing further charges when he returns to the United States.

“The most serious and egregious part of your conduct occurred in the United States. You just ended up in this country. So I assume the most significant penalty for your behaviour that night is going to occur in the United States,” Combs said. “The aspect of the Canadian incident that causes concern is that you fabricated a story that resulted in the police spending a lot of time looking for someone who didn’t exist. That’s unfortunate that you decided to do that, Mr. Redshirt.”

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