U.S. man asks to appeal human smuggling conviction that led to family’s death near Emerson

A U.S. man imprisoned for a human smuggling operation at the Manitoba-Minnesota border, which led to the deaths of a family, has asked an appeal court to quash his conviction.

In a new court filing Tuesday, the defence team for Steve Shand, 51, argued the case should be sent back to a lower court for a retrial “and/or other appropriate proceedings.”

Shand, who is from Deltona, Fla., was sentenced to 6½ years in prison after a Minnesota district court jury convicted him and co-accused Harshkumar Patel of four charges in 2024.

Patel, a 30-year-old Indian national who was in the U.S. illegally, received a 10-year sentence. He was accused of co-ordinating several smuggling trips.

At trial, prosecutors said Shand was hired to pick up a group of Indian nationals who were dropped off east of Emerson at night and instructed to walk across the border in a blizzard in January 2022.

Seven migrants, who were given inadequate winter clothing, made it across the border after spending hours in freezing weather, court heard. They were detained by U.S. border agents.

The frozen bodies of parents Jagdish Patel, 39, and Vaishaliben Patel, 37, their three-year-old son, Dharmik, and their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi, were found just metres north of the border.

In response to a recent filing by prosecutors, Shand’s legal team again contended that a U.S. border patrol agent’s traffic stop that led to their client’s arrest was a “roving patrol” and lacked reasonable suspicion.

Shand also argued a “death enhancement” was improperly applied to his sentence “because he was unaware and powerless to control the (human smuggling operation) leader’s decision to cross a family with young children in the unsuitable weather conditions.”

Prosecutors last month asked the higher court to dismiss separate appeals filed by Shand and Patel, who is not related to the victims.

The case prompted investigations in Canada, the U.S. and India. The RCMP has not announced any charges in its investigation, which a spokesperson said is still active.

Fenil Patel, of Brampton, Ont., is facing extradition to the U.S., where prosecutors allege he was a smuggling organizer.