A man convicted in a human trafficking case linked to the deaths of an Indian family at the US-Canada border has moved to the appeals court to overturn his conviction and sentence, CBC News reports.Steve Shand, one of the two men convicted in 2024, has asked the court to vacate the verdict and send the case back to a lower court for “and/or other appropriate proceedings,” according to a court filing filed Tuesday.Shand’s attorney has argued that his arrest by a U.S. Border Patrol agent was unlawful due to the traffic stop. The filing claims it was a “roving patrol” stop that lacked reasonable suspicion.The appeal also challenged the sentence, particularly the application of the “death penalty”. The lawyer argues that Shand was “unaware of and unable to control the (human trafficking operation) leader’s decision to allow a family with young children to cross in unsuitable weather conditions.”It further states that Shand was not aware of the leader’s “treacherous decision to abandon the family in the same weather conditions, falsely promising to bring them back so that they did not even attempt to make the crossing to safety.”Shand and his co-accused, Harsh Kumar Patel, were convicted for their role in a cross-border smuggling network that brought Indian immigrants from Canada to the United States. Prosecutors identified Patel as the organizer of the operation, while Shand, a Florida resident, was recruited to transport the migrants after they entered the US.The case stems from a tragic incident in January 2022, when a family of four from Gujarat froze to death while attempting to cross the border from Manitoba to Minnesota on foot during a severe blizzard.The victims were identified as 39-year-old Jagdish Patel, his 37-year-old wife Vaishali, their 11-year-old daughter Vihangi and their three-year-old son Dharmic. Their bodies were found in a snow-covered field just 12 meters away from the US border. Jagdish was found holding his younger son in his arms, while the mother and daughter were found nearby.That night the temperature dropped to minus 23 degrees Celsius, with the wind chill making it feel like minus 35 to minus 38 degrees Celsius. The family had walked for hours in deep snow with inadequate clothing.Investigators said the smuggling network extorted large sums of money and targeted vulnerable migrants looking for a better life. The family set out in the dark hoping to reach a waiting vehicle headed to America.Shand was arrested that same night near the Minnesota border, after being found in a snow-trapped van with other Indian nationals. A jury later convicted both men on multiple charges related to transportation and profiting from illegal migration. Shand was sentenced to six and a half years in prison, while Patel received more than 10 years.A judge had earlier rejected a request for acquittal or a retrial in April 2025, ruling that the evidence against both men was sufficient.
