Steve Shand leaves court
A man convicted in a human smuggling case linked to the death of an Indian family on the U.S.-Canada border has moved the Court of Appeal seeking to overturn his conviction and sentence, CBC News reports.Steve Shand, one of two men convicted in 2024, asked the court to vacate the ruling and remand the case to a lower court for a retrial “and/or other appropriate proceedings,” according to a court filing filed Tuesday.Shand’s lawyer said the traffic stop that led to his arrest by a US Border Patrol agent was illegal. The filing claims it was a “mobile patrol” stop lacking reasonable suspicion.The appeal also challenges the ruling, in particular the application of the “death enhancement.” The lawyer asserts that Shand was “unaware and powerless to control… [human smuggling operation] The commander’s decision to cross a family with young children in unsuitable weather conditions.”It is also stated that Chand was unaware of the chief’s treacherous decision to abandon the family in the same weather conditions, having falsely promised to recover them to the point that they did not even attempt to cross to safety.
Chand and his accomplice Harshkumar Patel were convicted for their roles in a cross-border smuggling network that brought Indian immigrants to the United States from Canada. Prosecutors identified Patel as the organizer of the operation, while Shand, a Florida resident, was recruited to transport the migrants after they crossed into the United States.The case stems from a tragic incident in January 2022, when a family of four from Gujarat froze to death while trying to cross the border on foot from Manitoba into Minnesota during a severe snowstorm.The victims have been identified as 39-year-old Jagdish Patel, his 37-year-old wife Vaishali, their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi, and their three-year-old son Dharmik. Their bodies were found in a snow-covered field just 12 meters from the US border. Jagdish was found carrying his young son, while the mother and daughter were discovered nearby.Temperatures that night dropped to minus 23 degrees Celsius, with the wind chill putting it closer to minus 35 to minus 38.
The family walked for hours in heavy snow without sufficient clothing.Investigators said the smuggling network charges large sums of money and targets vulnerable migrants looking for a better life. The family had set off in the dark, hoping to reach a car waiting for them on the American side.Chand was arrested the same night near the Minnesota border, where he was found in a truck stuck in the snow with other Indian nationals. A jury later convicted both men on multiple counts of transporting and profiting from illegal immigration. Chand was sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison, while Patel was sentenced to more than 10 years.A judge had previously rejected requests for acquittal or a retrial in April 2025, ruling that the evidence against the two men was sufficient.
