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Crime

Jamaican National Sentenced to Two Years in Prison in Illegal Canada Border Crossing

Christopher White crossed the border near Eureka and was arrested in Whitefish following a car chase in January

By Maggie Dresser
Border Patrol. Beacon File Photo

A Jamaican national who illegally crossed from Canada into the United States near Eureka, and was subsequently arrested with three other men in Whitefish following a high-speed car chase, was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to Acting U.S. Attorney Leif M. Johnson.

Christopher White, 45, also known by the aliases “Gregory White,” “Jahnyi Foster” and “Raymond White,” pleaded guilty on April 12 to illegal reentry of a deported or removed alien. U.S. District Judge Dana L. Christensen presided over Thursday’s sentencing hearing in Missoula.

According to court documents, White was removed from the United States in March 2020, when he was deported from New York to Canada. He did not have permission from Department of Homeland Security to re-enter the United States, according to court documents, which do not elaborate on the reasons for his deportation.

On Jan. 23, White returned to the United States near West Kootenai, which is not a port of entry, the records state. He was a passenger with three others in the vehicle and was arrested after a 75-mile car chase. Rastefaye Neil, 39, the driver of the vehicle and a co-defendant in the case, has pleaded guilty to transportation of illegal aliens and is pending sentencing. Another defendant, Afrah Ahmed Adbi, 32, was extradited to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, where he is charged with second-degree murder and being a fugitive. The fourth defendant, Naseem Ali Mohammed, is charged with illegal entry into the U.S. and for making false statements; however, charging documents in his case are under seal and his status is unclear.

The high-speed pursuit began after U.S. Border Patrol dispatch received trail camera notifications near West Kootenai, a remote community west of Lake Koocanusa, a little before 9 a.m. on Jan. 23. The trail camera picked up three individuals dressed in camouflage and carrying backpacks across the border from Canada into the United States. Two border patrol agents located a dark-colored Nissan Sentra leaving the area on West Kootenai Road, the only road leading out of the area where the border was breached. The agents activated their lights and sirens and the suspects initially pulled over, but when the agents exited their vehicle the Sentra took off at a high rate of speed.

Law enforcement deployed a vehicle immobilization device and the Nissan stopped down a small embankment off the highway north of Whitefish where the four men were arrested.

The Border Patrol, Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, Eureka Police Department, Whitefish Police Department and Montana Highway Patrol investigated the case.