It is expected that two men convicted of human smuggling in a case in which a family of four of India froiled until death trying to cross the border from Manitoba to the United States in 2022 is expected to learn their destinations in a Minnesota court on Wednesday.
The sentence hearings for the resident of Florida Steve Shand and Harshkumar Patel, an Indian citizen arrested in Chicago, are scheduled for Wednesday afternoon at Fergus Falls, Minnesota, after men were sentenced there in November.
The jury that heard his case deliberate for less than 90 minutes before returning with guilt verdicts in the four positions that each man faced related to bringing unauthorized people to the United States, transporting and taking advantage of them.
The sentences occur more than three years after four members of the Patel family (which were not related to Harshkumar Patel) died while trying to cross the border.
The frozen bodies of Jagdish Patel, 39, his wife, Vaishali, 37, his 11 -year -old daughter, Hangangi, and his three -year -old son, Dharmik, were found in a Manitoba field with snow about 12 meters from the United States border on January 19, 2022.
The temperature of that day was –23 C, but the cold of the wind caused it to feel –35 to –38.
Shand was arrested near the border at the same time with other Indian citizens in the truck he was driving.
Prosecutors have asked Shand to be sentenced to more than 10 years in prison, saying that the evidence presented at the trial showed that he knew how dangerous the cold climate could be and still continued to lead more migrants.
Harshkumar Patel, who, according to prosecutors, coordinated smuggling and hired Shand, was arrested in Chicago in February 2024.
Prosecutors have recommended a sentence of more than 19 years for Patel, arguing that he has never shown remorse for his actions and continues to deny his participation.
Patel’s lawyers argued that he was unfairly accused in the case, while Shand described his client as an unsuspecting taxi driver deceived by Patel to transfer migrants to the United States after they crossed the international border illegally.
Lawyers for both men have requested lower sentences than what prosecutors are looking for.
Last month, a judge rejected requests to acquit or order new judgments for men, whose lawyers had argued that evidence against their clients was insufficient.
Steve Shand and Harshkumar Patel, two men condemned by human smuggling in a case where a family of four of India froze until death trying to cross the border from Manitoba to the United States in 2022, will be condemned in a Fergus Falls, Minnesota, the pallet ministry on Wednesday.
