and let this guy go home?
Nearly a month into his imprisonment, a Canadian man, jailed after he crossed the border into the U.S. to fill up with gas, says he just wants to go home.
"Fine me, do whatever you want, but let me go home," said Michel Jalbert, whose wife is five months pregnant. She regularly makes the five-hour trek to visit him in jail.
Jalbert, a resident of Pohenegamook, Que., was arrested on Oct. 11 after failing to stop at the local border crossing. He had crossed into a neighbouring Maine town to fill up his truck with gasoline before a weekend hunting trip.
U.S. officials noticed a hunting rifle on his front seat. A subsequent computer search by American authorities revealed that he had a criminal record in Canada, related to a 12-year-old breaking and entering conviction. Now he's facing four months in jail.
"There's no justice here," Jalbert told CTV News, from his Bangor, Maine prison cell. "They're keeping me locked up but I've done nothing wrong."
Pohenegamook straddles the U.S.-Canada border and residents regularly cross 15 metres into the U.S. side of town to fill up their cars with gas. It's a practice American customs officials used to overlook.
South of the border, Jalbert is receiving support from the locals.
An editorial in the Maine newspaper The Portland Herald called the decision to keep Jalbert locked up "odd" and said he "is no threat to anyone (unless you're a duck)."
Local residents told CTV News the arrest is "foolish" and an "overreaction."
Still, U.S. prosecutors stand their ground. Wednesday, Jalbert was indicted on three charges by a U.S. grand jury. He's scheduled for arraignment next week.
Nearly a month into his imprisonment, a Canadian man, jailed after he crossed the border into the U.S. to fill up with gas, says he just wants to go home.
"Fine me, do whatever you want, but let me go home," said Michel Jalbert, whose wife is five months pregnant. She regularly makes the five-hour trek to visit him in jail.
Jalbert, a resident of Pohenegamook, Que., was arrested on Oct. 11 after failing to stop at the local border crossing. He had crossed into a neighbouring Maine town to fill up his truck with gasoline before a weekend hunting trip.
U.S. officials noticed a hunting rifle on his front seat. A subsequent computer search by American authorities revealed that he had a criminal record in Canada, related to a 12-year-old breaking and entering conviction. Now he's facing four months in jail.
"There's no justice here," Jalbert told CTV News, from his Bangor, Maine prison cell. "They're keeping me locked up but I've done nothing wrong."
Pohenegamook straddles the U.S.-Canada border and residents regularly cross 15 metres into the U.S. side of town to fill up their cars with gas. It's a practice American customs officials used to overlook.
South of the border, Jalbert is receiving support from the locals.
An editorial in the Maine newspaper The Portland Herald called the decision to keep Jalbert locked up "odd" and said he "is no threat to anyone (unless you're a duck)."
Local residents told CTV News the arrest is "foolish" and an "overreaction."
Still, U.S. prosecutors stand their ground. Wednesday, Jalbert was indicted on three charges by a U.S. grand jury. He's scheduled for arraignment next week.
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