Charges have now been laid in the U.S. against a man who was nabbed in Abbotsford after a day-long cross-border manhunt ended on April 3.
Nathan John Hall, 35, was named in a grand jury indictment filed Wednesday in U.S. district court in Seattle, Wash.
He and his co-accused – Jeffrey Laviolette of Surrey, and Kali Henifin and Ryan Lambert of Bellingham – have each been charged with conspiracy to distribute ecstasy, conspiracy to import ecstasy, aiding and abetting the importation of ecstasy, and aiding and abetting the possession of ecstasy with intent to distribute.
Hall and Laviolette each face an additional charge of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.
Hall and Laviolette (in photo at left), 37, were allegedly walking through a forested area along the U.S. Canada border from Abbotsford into Washington State on April 2 when they were spotted by border agents.
Both fled, and Hall allegedly fired gunshots at the agents. Laviolette was apprehended, but Hall got away, launching a manhunt that involved authorities on both sides of the border.
He was arrested early the next morning at an Abbotsford apartment in which Laviolette's girlfriend was also present.
Hall and Laviolette each allegedly discarded two backpacks as they were fleeing the border agents. The bags contained 58.5 pounds of ecstasy, according to U.S. court documents.
Hall remains in custody in B.C. and has not yet been charged on this side of the border. It is not known if and when he will face extradition.
At the time of his arrest, he was wanted for a theft charge and three breach charges out of Kelowna. He is next slated to appear on those charges on Wednesday, April 17 in Kelowna.
Laviolette remains in custody in the federal detention centre in Seattle, Wash.
Henifin and Lambert (in photo at left) – who were allegedly supposed to pick up the drugs from Hall and Laviolette and transport the ecstasy to San Francisco – have both been released on bail.
An arraignment hearing, where the accused enter their pleas, is scheduled for Thursday, April 18 in Seattle.
Henifin has already entered a not guilty plea, after filing a waiver of arraignment, which was approved, saying she could not afford the costs to travel from Bellingham to the hearing in Seattle.
She has three young children, is unemployed, and still owes money on the residence she previously shared with Lambert, according to the waiver documents.