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 filed a lawsuit in the Court of Appeal seeking to overturn his conviction and sentence, CBC News reports.Steve Shand, one of two men convicted in 2024, has asked the court to vacate the conviction and send the case back to a lower court for a retrial “and/or other appropriate proceedings,” according to court documents filed Tuesday.Shand’s attorneys argued that the traffic stop that led to his arrest by U.S. Border Patrol agents was illegal. The document claimed it was a “roving patrol” stop and lacked reasonable suspicion.The appeal also raised questions about the sentence, particularly the application of the “death enhancement”. Lawyers argued that Suntech “did not know and had no control over [human smuggling operation] Leaders decided to allow a family with young children to cross in unfavorable weather conditions. “The report further states that Shand was unaware that leaders “abandoned their families in the same weather conditions and falsely promised to retrieve them to the point that they did not even attempt to cross to safety.”Chand and his co-defendant Harshkumar Patel were convicted of participating in a cross-border smuggling network that brought Indian immigrants from Canada into the United States. Prosecutors identified Patel as the organizer of the operation and Shand, a Florida resident, as being recruited to transport migrants 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 walk from Manitoba into Minnesota during a severe snowstorm.The victims were identified as Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife Vaishali, 37, their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi and three-year-old son Dharmik. Their bodies were found in a snow-covered field just 12 meters from the US border. Jagdish was found holding his young son, while mother and daughter were also spotted nearby.The temperature dropped to -23 degrees Celsius that night, with wind chill bringing temperatures closer to -35 to -38 degrees Celsius. The family walked for several hours through deep snow with not enough clothes.Investigators say the smuggling network collected huge sums of money and targeted vulnerable migrants seeking a better life. The family set off in the dark, hoping to reach a waiting vehicle on the U.S. side.Shand was arrested that evening near the Minnesota border, where he was found with other Indian nationals in a van stuck in the snow. A jury later convicted both men on multiple counts related to transporting and profiting from illegal immigration. Shand was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, while Patel was sentenced to more than ten years.A judge had earlier rejected requests for acquittal or a retrial in April 2025, ruling that the evidence against the two men was sufficient.
