An Alberta man charged with a number of offences under the Customs Act was found guilty of making false declarations but not smuggling.
A trial was held for Brian Wilson in June and presiding Judge Karl Bazin presented his decision in Estevan provincial court on Monday, absolving Wilson of some charges.
The charges came about when Wilson was importing a boat he bought in the United States through the North Portal Port of Entry. At customs, he claimed the price of the boat was $5,500, but upon further investigation, the customs officer found a receipt for $57,500, leading to some suspicion.
Wilson said the boat had been sunk and he paid $5,500 to buy it, with another $50,000 going towards restoration.
"I do not accept that the boat was bought for $5,500 and then restored," said Bazin. "This may have happened a long time before Mr. Wilson bought the boat, but this is not the case."
Bazin found him guilty of making false statements and attempting to evade paying duty on the price of the boat, but not guilty for misrepresenting the price of a generator. He also found Wilson not guilty for making false statements in regards to the price of trailer and the outboard motor.
"This is not a clandestine operation," noted Bazin in his decision to find Wilson not guilty of smuggling.
Sentencing for the matter was adjourned to Oct. 29.
In other court proceedings, a 16-year-old youth was placed on two years of probation after pleading guilty to possessing narcotics for the purpose of trafficking and possessing the proceeds of crime.
The male youth, who was 15 at the time of the incident, was the passenger in a vehicle that was pulled over. The youth fled the vehicle and was found some time later near the Estevan Comprehensive School. A search turned up half a gram of cocaine and four packages each containing .8 grams of MDMA. More than $3,000 was also found with the accused.
He was represented by Legal Aid, and his lawyer Robert Grimsrud noted the youth has been on conditions for roughly a year since he was arrested. With this sentence, the youth will have been living on conditions for about three years.
The sentence was agreed upon by the defence and Crown, but Bazin asked about the possibility of automatic jail for the youth. He noted an adult would be looking at jail time. Grimsrud said because he is a youth, jail isn't an option under the circumstances.
Bazin left the youth with a warning that if he faces the same charges as an adult, he could be looking at about two years in a federal penitentiary.
In lieu of 100 hours of community service, the youth must pay a $1,000 fine. Conditions of his probation are that he attend school or a programming facility and not consume any alcohol or non-prescription drugs. He must also take any recommended treatment for alcohol and drug addiction, which may include a residential treatment program.
The youth must submit to searches of his person and home, with searches of his home not occurring more than three times per month. He is also subject to a two-year firearms prohibition and must submit a DNA sample.
