Two Canadians fined for trying to smuggle illegal Mexican immigrant to Canada

Two fined for trying to smuggle illegal Mexican immigrant into Canada

Two Canadian citizens have pleaded guilty to their roles in trying to smuggle an illegal Mexican immigrant into Canada so he could be reunited with his young son.

Cynthia Martinez-Jurado and Matias Can both admitted to charges of aiding and abetting Tuesday and were given $500 fines and permanent criminal records.

Martinez-Jurado is a single mother who was living in Winnipeg and desperately wanted to bring the father of her four-year-old son into the country. She enlisted the help of Can, a long-time family friend who lives in Ontario, court was told.

The pair drove to Montana, where the baby’s father was living illegally. The trio then drove to the Canada-U.S. border, dropped the man off on the North Dakota side and picked him up on the Manitoba side after he snuck into the country on foot.

Police arrested all three last summer after conducting surveillance and spotting their "suspicious" vehicle sitting in the Winkler-area for a lengthy period of time, court was told. Martinez-Jurado and Can were both charged and released on bail, while the woman’s illegal boyfriend was quickly deported back to Mexico.

"I’m really sorry for what I did. I’m sure as a woman you understand what I did. I wanted nothing else but to have my family together," a tearful Martinez-Jurado told provincial court Judge Judith Elliott.

Can said he couldn’t refuse the request from Martinez-Jurado, even though he knew what he was doing was illegal.

"As a Christian, I couldn’t leave anyone alone if they asked for help. The Bible says," he told Elliott. "Please forgive me. I believe this was a big mistake."

Crown attorney Stephen Christie was seeking a $5,000 fine but no custody for both accused. The maximum penalty allowed by law is six months in jail and/or a $10,000 fine. Defence lawyer David Matas told court both Martinez-Jurado and Can are in dire financial straits and can’t afford to pay much.

"(Martinez-Jurado) was trying to act, mistakenly, in the best interests of her child," said Matas, noting the woman has since severed her relationship with her boyfriend. "And (Cab) knew it was wrong, he’s learned his lesson, he’s not going to do it again."

Martinez-Jurado and Can had no prior criminal records but will now likely have a difficult time travelling outside of Canada because of their convictions.

Pair pleads guilty to trying to smuggle in tot's dad 
TWO Canadian citizens have pleaded guilty to trying to smuggle a Mexican man into Canada so he could be reunited with his young son.
Cynthia Martinez-Jurado and Matias Can both admitted to charges of aiding and abetting Tuesday and were given $500 fines and permanent criminal records.
Martinez-Jurado is a single mother who was living in Winnipeg and desperately wanted to bring the father of her four-year-old boy into the country. She enlisted the help of Can, a long-time family friend who lives in Ontario, court was told.
The pair drove to Montana, where the boy's father was living illegally. The trio then drove to the Canada-U.S. border, dropped the man off on the North Dakota side and picked him up on the Manitoba side near the tiny hamlet of Haskett after he snuck into the country on foot.
Police arrested all three last summer after conducting surveillance and spotting their "suspicious" vehicle in the Winkler-area, court was told. Martinez-Jurado and Can were charged and released on bail, while the woman's illegal boyfriend was deported back to Mexico.
"I'm really sorry for what I did. I'm sure as a woman you understand what I did. I wanted nothing else but to have my family together," a tearful Martinez-Jurado told provincial court Judge Judith Elliott.
Can said he couldn't refuse the request from Martinez-Jurado, even though he knew it was illegal.
Crown attorney Stephen Christie sought a $5,000 fine but no custody for either accused. Defence lawyer David Matas told court Martinez-Jurado and Can are in dire financial straits and can't afford to pay much.
Martinez-Jurado and Can had no prior criminal records but will now likely have a difficult time travelling outside of Canada because of their convictions.

These individuals should have been granted an absolute discharge, where they would have no conviction and no record recorded. I completely understand why they did what they did. I am sympathetic to the woman's situation where she just wants her family to be together. A criminal record will only further limit her chances of ever seeing her boyfriend, as he is back in Mexico. I feel sorry for the family. 

Woman fined after horse dies of starvation

Woman fined after horse dies of starvation

A Manitoba woman was unaware her horse was starving to death until she received a visit from animal welfare authorities, a judge was told Thursday.

Monique Legal-Deverill, 41, pleaded guilty to failing to provide adequate care to a horse in her possession.

Court heard investigators were called to her Winnipeg area hobby farm Jan. 31, 2009, after receiving a complaint her two horses were not being fed properly.

Investigators found one dead horse and another emaciated. The dead horse weighed 225 kilograms, roughly half its normal weight.

Investigators found horse feed on the farm but not accessible to the animals.

Defence lawyer Brad King said his client believed she had been feeding the horses properly and thought they had been suffering from health problems.

“She was mortified by the situation,” King said. “She didn’t want to put the horse through any suffering, she believed she was doing what she needed to do.”

Judge Linda Giesbrecht didn’t conceal her skepticism.

“Having a farming background, I’m having difficulty understanding how a horse loses 400 pounds without an owner noticing until an inspector comes,” she said. “A horse doesn’t just drop dead one morning from starvation.”

According to investigators, a lack of feed resulted in the horses eating the wood from a windbreak and pawing at the ground to dig up grass. An autopsy of the dead horse found it had also eaten gravel.

Court heard Legal-Deverill received the horses in 2002 as gifts for her young daughters. In 2008, she assumed sole care for the horses after separating from her husband.

“The bottom line is that she was perhaps in over her head, didn’t realize it and didn’t do as much as she should have,” King said.

Giesbrecht fined Legal-Deverill $247, the penalty recommended by the Crown and investigators.

The maximum fine for first-time offenders is $5,000.

This sanction is completely appropriate! Good job Judge! 

Man fined $40,000 for tax evasion

Man fined $40,000 for tax evasion

A 32-year-old man who set up an Internet investment scheme pleaded guilty to income tax evasion Monday.

James Cotton, 32, was fined $40,000, sentenced to two years of supervised probation and ordered to get treatment for his gambling addiction.

The court heard that Cotton set up a website called "stormysurf.ca" and told investors they could make 150 per cent returns on their investment within 10 days. He used the proceeds from the website to build a swanky home in Matlock and paid more than $90,000 for two new vehicles, but never declared income from his web business. The Canada Revenue Agency was tipped off to Cotton's Internet money-making venture by the RCMP.

Police had been contacted by investors who complained about the scheme, and a criminal investigation continues. The federal Crown said Monday that Cotton, who waived his right to an attorney, co-operated with investigators from the Canada Revenue Agency.

Cotton told the court that he became a gambling addict at the age of 18 when he moved off the family dairy farm to Winnipeg. He has previous convictions for credit card fraud, which he blamed on his addiction.

The court heard that Cotton no longer lives with his wife and family, and works for friends at their warehouse. Provincial court Judge Heather Pullan gave Cotton three years to pay his $40,000 fine.

I think that this is a pretty appropriate sentence for this man. 

Prison for drunk driving arsonist

Jail for drunk driving arsonist

An Edmonton man busted for torching his former flame’s SUV after driving drunk from the scene and just missing a police car before smashing into a tree is off to jail.

Anthony Zaozirny, 42, was sentenced Friday to 10 months behind bars, followed by two years probation, after earlier pleading guilty to arson, impaired driving and two counts of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm.

Court has heard the bizarre incident stemmed from the oilfield worker becoming upset when his ex-girlfriend became pregnant after their romance ended and she ignored his attempts to get her to submit to DNA testing so he could find out whether he was the father.

Provincial court Judge Donna Valgardson noted the relationship had alternated between “reconciliation and revenge” and told Zaozirny he needs to listen when people give him good advice.

“That’s forget it and move on,” said Valgardson.

Zaozirny was fined $2,000 and banned from driving for 18 months on the drunk driving conviction.

He was also ordered to submit a DNA sample for the national DNA databank in Ottawa and prohibited from possessing firearms for 10 years.

As well, he was ordered to pay $4,300 in restitution for the two vehicles he damaged.

While on probation, Zaozirny must take treatment and counselling for alcohol abuse and domestic violence, abstain from drinking and have no contact with his ex-girlfriend or her current husband.

Court heard Zaozirny had a brief romantic liaison with Bernadette Andrejiw in 2008 and the pair had earlier been friends and acquaintances for a number of years.

Their romance ended in July 2008 and Zaozirny later learned Andrejiw was pregnant and he repeatedly tried to contact her to get her to submit to DNA testing so he could find out whether he was the father.

On the night of March 15, 2009, Zaozirny went to a bar across the street from where he knew she lived and was getting drunk when he saw her pull up in a Ford Explorer on the street in front of her residence and then go in.

Court heard Zaozirny then went outside to his pickup and grabbed a drill cable which he used to smash a large hole in the SUV’s windshield. He then grabbed a gas container from his truck and poured about five litres of gas into the SUV before tossing in a match and igniting the vehicle.

The SUV was “completely destroyed” by the 2:30 a.m. fire and a nearby pickup was also damaged.

Two police cars were heading to the scene in a convoy when the officer in the rear cruiser saw a pickup operated by Zaozirny do an unsafe turn in front of the first cruiser, narrowly missing it, and then crash into a tree.

The officer pulled over to investigate and quickly realized Zaozirny had been drinking. A breath sample later revealed Zaozirny had a blood-alcohol level of .13.

The officer also smelled gasoline and discovered a half-empty gas container and a book of matches in the pickup.

At that point, Zaozirny gave a full confession of what he had done and was arrested and charged, court heard.

The oil field worker was eventually released on his own recognizance with a condition he not contact Andrejiw.

However, Zaozirny repeatedly called the home where Andrejiw was living with Aaron Beattie and left messages, including one where he threatened to “bury the two of them” and another where he threatened to “rip Mr. Beattie’s head off.”

Before being sentenced, Zaozirny apologized for his actions.

“I totally regret what I did. It was a poor judgement call and alcohol was definitely a factor,” said Zaozirny.

I completely agree with this man's sentence as I believe he shows remorse and should be rehabilitated by attending alcohol counseling and being placed on probation. I also agree with the short prison term to express denunciation.