On Monday, a trucker who attempted to smuggle $6 million of drugs into Canada was given a 10-year jail sentence.
In March, 63-year-old Wayne Douglas Rutherford pleaded guilty to charges of importing nearly 47 kilograms of cocaine and 17 kilograms of methamphetamine, and possession of drugs for the intention of trafficking. In total, their street value was more than $6 million.
According to Windsor Star, the truck driver also faces drug conspiracy charges in Quebec, Canada and has intentions of pleading guilty there.
In August 2013, the trucker attempted to smuggle the drugs in a false panel hidden inside his trailer that was carrying a load of tomatoes from Sacramento across the Ambassador Bridge.
When officials X-rayed his truck, they spotted an anomaly. They found the hidden compartment and discovered the drugs.
Rutherford told the judge before his sentencing:
“I know I broke the law, I know I made a mistake. Most of my life I never broke the law and I always tried to help my friends. I know I made a mistake and I know I have to pay for it.”
Federal prosecutor Richard Pollock asked the judge for a 14-year sentence. Rutherford’s lawyer asked for a 9 to 12-year sentence.
Superior Court Justice Christopher Bondy acknowledged the trucker’s circumstances and motives. He said that the family man who had been married for over 30 years with three children was desperate after losing his trucking business, two farms and his home to bankruptcy.
The Judge explained that it appeared Rutherford wasn’t smuggling drugs in search of some sort of glamorous lifestyle, but rather a futile attempt to regain the life he once had for his family.
Bondy also took note of the trucker’s remorse and accountability.
Even so, the law required that Rutherford be sentenced harshly since cocaine and meth have “devastating effects” on society. The 10-year sentence he received was necessary for the seriousness of the crime.
