[notfarnow]

yep, very sad and tragic.

In fairness, the border workers held him for quite a while, but had no legal grounds to detain him. They are to testify this week, by the sounds of it their hands were tied.

Maybe his good looks helped to put them at ease:


More info:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/06/09/congressman_questioning_a_bizarre_border_crossing/

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2007/01/11/nb-court44.html

Thursday, January 11, 2007 | CBC News

NB Power worker Edward Young was waiting to cross the U.S. border to begin his Mexican vacation when he met accused killer Gregory Allan Despres, who identified himself as an assassin with the U.S. Marines just heading home from a kill, the court heard on Thursday.

Young, 40, testified that he laughed at what he considered to be a wild statement and didn't think Despres could be serious, given his small, five-foot-two-inch stature. "He doesn't even come up to my shoulder."

Gregory Despres, 24, is led into court on the third day of his murder trial in Fredericton.
(file) Despres, 24, is on trial in Fredericton for first-degree murder in the April 23, 2005, stabbing deaths of his next-door neighbours Fred Fulton, 74, and Verna Decarie, 70.

He is accused of breaking into their Minto home and violently attacking them, ultimately beheading Fulton. He has pleaded not guilty to both crimes, and his trial is in its fourth day of testimony.

On April 25, 2005, Young says Despres sat next to him at the border office between St. Stephen and Calais, while they both waited to cross into Maine.

Young testified he crosses the border at least once a week to buy groceries and gas, but was stopped this particular time because one of his friends was carrying narcotic painkillers and had to prove they were obtained legally.

When border guards asked Young whether he had any previous criminal charges, he admitted to a minor drug possession charge 18 years earlier.

While he waited to be processed, Young told the court that a young man with a Mohawk-type haircut sat down next to him, who he later realized was Despres.

Border officials had seized Despres's backpack, and took out its contents including brass knuckles, bayonets, and a chainsaw.

Young told the court he looked at Despres and joked to him, "I guess you're not getting out of here soon either."

He said that's when Despres calmly told him he was a hired killer who just finished a job in Canada and was on his way home.

"Just that one sentence," he said. "He started drinking his coffee again, then they sent me back across the border. I looked back and he was going the other way."

Young wasn't allowed into the United States on April 25, 2005, but border officials gave Despres, a naturalized U.S. citizen, permission to cross after seizing his weaponry.

Despres was arrested the next day in Massachusetts, charged with two counts of first-degree murder, and extradited back to Canada.