U.S. holds Canadian after border chase

FORT FAIRFIELD – A Nova Scotia man is in U.S. Border Patrol custody after illegally entering the country last week during a car chase with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

U.S. Border Patrol officials would not release the name of the man, citing privacy rights. RCMP officials did say that the Canadian citizen was approximately 30 years old.

Brian Lundquist, patrol agent in charge at the Fort Fairfield Border Patrol station, said Monday that the man was arrested Oct. 19 for illegal entry into the United States and for “being an alien who has been previously convicted of a crime that would render him removable from the U.S. as an aggravated felon.”

The event never would have occurred if the man had paid a gas station for $10 in fuel, according to Constable Denver Beers of the Perth-Andover, New Brunswick, RCMP detachment.

Beers said Florenceville, Tobique and Perth-Andover detachments in New Brunswick were informed of the gas theft at approximately 11:30 p.m. Atlantic time.

Twenty minutes later, the man was stopped near Florenceville on the Trans Canada Highway by Constable Lloyd Harquail of the Florenceville RCMP, Beers said.

Beers said Harquail allegedly was assaulted after he approached the man’s car.

“There was an argument between the officer and the individual about turning off the vehicle,” Beers said. “When the officer made attempts to shut the vehicle off, the man put the car into motion and put the officer’s life at risk.”

A car chase then took place, involving estimated speeds of 65 to 85 mph, Beers said. The man avoided spike belts and a road deterrent on the highway, the constable said.

The driver entered an unmanned port of entry at Perth-Andover by driving around a gate, Beers said.

At that point, he said, the RCMP stopped following.

“We didn’t want to get into a situation where we were pursuing the vehicle anymore, so we were merely following it so we could see where it was going and allow the proper authorities to take the proper measures,” Beers said.

The driver stopped his vehicle on Route 1A between Fort Fairfield and Mars Hill. RCMP officers presume the man may have run out of his $10 in gas.

The man was taken into custody by U.S. authorities without incident.

Lundquist said the man was being detained in Border Patrol custody pending a removal hearing for his illegal entry and criminal alien status.

The patrol agent in charge said the man will stand before a federal immigration judge – the closest judge is in Boston – but that a court date has not been determined.