‘Profit ahead of people’s lives’: Trial begins in freezing deaths of migrant family

FERGUS FALLS — A family of four from India froze to death while trying to walk across the Canada-U.S. border in a blizzard because alleged human smugglers cared more about money than the risk of people dying, a prosecutor said Monday.

“This case is about these two men putting profit ahead of people’s lives,” Ryan Lipes said in his opening statement at the jury trial of Steve Shand and Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel.

The two men are accused of being part of an operation that brought people from India to Canada then across the border from Manitoba into Minnesota.

They have pleaded not guilty to charges including conspiracy to transport aliens causing serious bodily injury and placing lives in jeopardy. The trial in Fergus Falls, Minn., is scheduled to run five days.

One of the trips they are accused of taking part in saw a family — Jagdish Patel, 39; his wife, Vaishaliben Patel, 37; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and their three-year-old son, Dharmik — die in January 2022, when the wind chill was below -35. They were not related to the accused man with the same last name.

Prosecutors said they were among 11 migrants who had been left to walk in the freezing dark for hours on the empty prairie.

RCMP found their frozen bodies in a field metres from the border, the father still holding his youngest child in his arms.

The boy died “with his dad’s hand over his face to protect him from the elements,” Lipes said.

The girl was beside her father, and her mother was farther away, frozen near a fence, prosecutors have said in a trial brief.

Before jury selection began, defence lawyers asked that photos of the bodies not be shown to the jury.

Aaron Morrison, Shand’s lawyer, argued the photos would “cause extreme prejudice” for the jury. But the prosecution said the photos are necessary to show the family was given inadequate clothing for the bone-chilling weather.

The photos also show that the boots worn by the family match the boots on other migrants, the prosecution said. Both defendants are accused of participating in several smuggling operations in December 2021 and January 2022.

U.S. District Judge John Tunheim ruled the photos can be shown during the trial.

Prosecutors allege Harshkumar Patel co-ordinated with smugglers in Canada to have groups of migrants dropped off near the border, where they would walk until they entered the U.S. and be picked up by Shand.

On the night the family died, U.S. border patrol agents arrested Shand. Authorities said he was driving a 15-passenger van and two migrants had managed to find him, while five others soon emerged at the location.

RCMP have not made any arrests north of the border but said their investigation is ongoing.

Shand’s other lawyer told the jury her client was a taxi driver from Florida who had frequently picked up people for Patel in that state and later in the Midwest. He was unaware he was helping migrants enter the country illegally, said Lisa Lopez.

“Mr. Shand did not agree to participate in any crime. He was used by Mr. Patel,” she said.

Shand’s first pickup for Patel was some 50 kilometres away from the border in Drayton, N.D., and did not appear unusual, said Lopez. Shand used his real name and credit cards on the trips, she said.

It was on the final night that “things did start to click for Mr. Shand,” she said.

Patel’s lawyer, Thomas Leinenweber, told the jury that his client was misidentified as being part of the human smuggling ring.

Prosecutors told the jury they plan to produce records to show the person who gave Shand orders was labelled Dirty Harry on Shand’s phone and that Dirty Harry’s phone number matches one used by Patel when he applied for residency in the U.S.

During jury selection, the judge asked a pool of dozens of potential jurors about their views on immigration, law enforcement and other topics.

Two raised their hands when asked whether they had strong opinions about the immigration system that might affect them. Another raised his hand when the judge asked if anyone had unpleasant experiences with immigrants.

Jurors were also asked whether they had worked in law enforcement, whether they have had bad experiences with law enforcement and where they get their news.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 18, 2024.

Steve Lambert, The Canadian Press