Survivor tells story of fatal night in human smuggling trial

The jury in the federal trial for two men accused of human smuggling heard dramatic testimony Wednesday from a man who crossed the U.S. Canadian border in a snowstorm on Jan. 19, 2022. He was with a group which included the Patel family of four who froze to death that night.

Defendants Hari Patel — who is no relation to the victims — and Steve Shand face charges in connection with what happened.

In midafternoon Yash Patel, 23, took the stand. He is also unrelated to the victims.

Originally from the Indian state of Gujerat like the other migrants brought over in the human smuggling operation, he now works as a cashier at a Dunkin Donuts in Chicago.

He told the court he was not sure who funded his journey to the U.S. but believes a friend of his grandfather arranged the travel.

He described a long and confusing journey. He said he left India in late December 2021 for Toronto. Just a day later he flew to Vancouver where he was left alone in a house for about two weeks. Then he was sent back to Toronto. He asked why he was being moved around and was told “whatever we say you have to do.”

Into the cold

Two days later he was picked up and taken to Winnipeg to a house where there were six or seven other people. He said they were all from India. He didn’t recognize any of them but they spoke the dialect of the state of Gujaret.

He was there for one or two hours. He said he only had his clothes, a T-shirt and pants and documents. He said everyone was given a jacket, gloves, shoes and some foot and hand warmers.

Two men then arrived to pick everyone up in a large van. Yash recalled the men said nothing the entire time. He saw a family in the van already: two parents and two children. He said that night the temperature was minus 35-40 degrees. He said they were never told where they were being taken.

Yash told the court they drove for about 20-30 mins, or maybe longer, he was unsure. Then they set off on foot.

Everyone was told to walk straight, although he said he did not know straight where.

Yash said it was snowing and very windy. Initially, the group walked together. However, at one point he turned to look behind and didn’t see anyone with him. He was separated. So he kept walking. He says he walked for five or six hours. He said he was scared. He was alone. He couldn’t see lights anywhere. He couldn’t find shelter, so he kept walking.

He said he never saw the family again.

Eventually he came across a van stuck in the snow. He headed toward it and got in because he was in a “serious condition.” Another migrant was already in the van when he got there.

Earlier testimony described how a mechanic who works at a nearby gas plant found defendant Steve Shand stuck in the snow with two migrants in his van. Yash said he fell asleep and was wakened when the Border Patrol arrived and took him into custody.

Under cross-examination Yash said his plan was to stay in Canada as a student. He never intended to cross illegally into the U.S. However, he said he was just doing and going where he was told. He said he now wants to stay in the U.S. He has filed for asylum with the help of his immigration lawyer.

A cold retrieval

The court also heard powerful testimony from Royal Canadian Mounted Police Officer Pierre Demere who retrieved the Patel family’s bodies. He showed jurors images of the scene. The snow-covered bodies of the father Jagdish, 34, son Dharmik, 3 and daughter Vihangi, 11, were huddled together. And a short way away they found the body of the mother Vaishali, 39, leaned up against a chain link fence.

Demere said they retrieved the bodies one at a time because it was so cold.

Other significant testimony earlier in the day came from Rajinder Singh, a self-admitted human smuggler. On Tuesday he told the court he had personally made $400,000 dollars from the business. He said people usually pay around $100,000 to take the trip.

Singh said he heard later from the mastermind behind the whole operation, Finl Patel — also no relation to the victims — that the Patel family called Finl Patel on the fatal night saying it was too cold to cross. Sing said Finl Patel promised to have them picked up, but did not follow through.

The jury also heard from Homeland Security analyst Devin Stefanowicz who built a record of the communications, financial transactions, and other connections between Hari Patel and Steve Shand before and during the night the family died.

There were also communications between Shand and his wife, Stephanie Brown. Stefanowicz told the court this included videos Shand sent Patel of the weather conditions on the night the migrants were due to cross.

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