Acting on an anonymous tip, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers were able to apprehend a Canadian felon and the two people who helped him enter the United States illegally on Saturday, August 15, 2015.
On several occasions in August, an anonymous caller contacted the U.S. Port of Entry in Grand Portage informing officers of a plot by Walter David Duncan, 56, to illegally enter the United States. According to the caller, Duncan would be assisted by Craig John Zdybal, 24, and Richard Andrew Davids, 26, who lived near Duncan in the Toronto area.
The plan, according to the anonymous party, was for a rental vehicle from Thunder Bay to be driven to the High Falls Road on the Canadian side of Pigeon River. From there Duncan intended to cross the river near Middle Falls. The person driving the rental vehicle was to enter the U.S. through the Grand Portage Port of Entry and go to the Grand Portage Casino. After crossing the river, Duncan was to walk in the woods behind Ryden’s Border Store to meet the rental vehicle driver near the Mount Josephine cliffs in about four hours.
The caller alleged that Duncan was inadmissible to the United States because of his criminal record, which included convictions for fraud, importing controlled substances and sexual assault. Law Enforcement later confirmed that Duncan had prior convictions for importing narcotics from Mexico and sexual assault. The caller also told CBP that Duncan had entered the U.S. illegally “four to five times in the past.”
Based on the tip, CBP officers were on alert for Duncan’s co-conspirators attempting to enter the U.S. On Saturday, August 15, Richard Davids did just that and CBP officers allowed him to pass through the Port of Entry.
However, CBP notified Border Patrol Agents who kept Davids and the silver Kia Optima he was driving under surveillance as he spent some time at the casino. They observed as he left the casino and drove north, returning to the gas station near the casino with two passengers.
The Border Patrol agents placed the three men under arrest, noting that two of them were wearing wet clothing, indicative of having just crossed the Pigeon River.
According to the criminal complaint, Duncan had promised the other men a free trip to Thunder Bay for helping him cross the international border. Zdybal was then to accompany Duncan on a trip to Chicago for reasons unknown to him and Davids was to return with the rental car to Canada. Zdybal said Duncan asked for his help because he didn’t want to cross the Pigeon River and surrounding woods alone for fear of being attacked by a bear or falling in the rough terrain.
Duncan was charged with a felony count of “attempting to enter the United States at a time and place other than as designated by immigration officers and eluded examination and inspection officers.”
Zdybal was charged with a misdemeanor count of “conspiracy to bring aliens into the United States.” Davids was charged with “conspiracy to harbor certain aliens.”
Plea hearings have been scheduled before Judge David S. Doty for Duncan on September 21 and Zdybal for September 22. A hearing for Davids has yet to be scheduled.
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