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Canadian Man Sentenced in Cross-Border Drug Case

Posted on: Tuesday, 16 May 2006, 12:02 CDT

By Judy Harrison, Bangor Daily News, Maine

May 16--BANGOR -- A Canadian man who was stopped more than 20 months ago at a temporary checkpoint on I-95 was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court to 21/2 years in federal prison on drug charges.

Joshua D. Gabriel, 29, of Ontario also was ordered to forfeit the $4,060 in cash found in his minivan and the $7,000 Rolex watch he was wearing.

He faced up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

Gabriel was arrested in September 2004 in Old Town at a checkpoint set up by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, a division of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Border patrol agents found 140 pounds of marijuana in his car.

Customs and border patrol agents set up temporary checkpoints in Old Town in July and September 2004 just before the Democratic and Republican parties respectively held their conventions.

The intent, according to border patrol officials, was to guard against potential terrorist threats in Boston and New York where the conventions were held.

U.S. District Judge John Woodcock on Monday referred to Gabriel as an "international drug smuggler," even though he has no criminal record. The judge also scolded the defendant for "violating the trust between two countries."

"The border was proudly recognized and unguarded for many years," Woodcock said. "In fact, what Mr. Gabriel decided to do was violate the trust of the citizens of Canada and the U.S."

Leonard Sharon, Gabriel's Auburn attorney, said after the sentencing that it was unlikely the case would be appealed to the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals in Boston despite lingering questions over the legality of the temporary checkpoints.

The attorney said that his client could not afford the appeal and most likely would be released from prison before the case could be resolved.

Sharon challenged the legality of the stop last year. In December, Woodcock rejected U.S. Magistrate Judge Margaret Kravchuk's recommended decision that granted Sharon's motion to suppress the evidence seized in the search.

Woodcock said that the checkpoint passed "constitutional muster" and was necessary for the government to be able to protect the public.

The Maine Civil Liberties Union also criticized the stops, but the organization does not plan to take on the appeal, Zachary L Heiden of the MCLU said Monday.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Bangor Daily News, Maine

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: Bangor Daily News (Bangor, Maine)

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