Border boat bust ends in conviction

Kimberley Rouse, 37, of Surrey, B.C., has been convicted in U.S. District Court in Seattle of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute. Rouse and three other Canadians were arrested June 7, 2006 as they attempted to smuggle nearly 200 pounds of marijuana into the United States by boat. The jury deliberated nine hours following a one day trial November 15 in front of U.S. District Judge John C.

Coughenour. Sentencing is set for March 9, 2007.

According to documents filed in the case, Rouse was in a small boat that was spotted sailing into Birch Bay, Washington at about 10:20 PM. The boat was traveling without running lights. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers had noticed the boat and two men on shore in a rental van. A Customs and Border Protection aircraft videotaped the boat as four large hockey bags were being unloaded. After the boat left the beach, it turned on its running lights and headed north where it was intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard and Customs and Border Protection boats. Rouse was driving the boat when it was stopped by authorities. On board investigators found a Global Positioning System device that showed the boat’s trip had originated in Crescent Beach, B.C. Rouse and Richard Gow were arrested on board. ICE agents stopped the rental van as it sped down I-5. Inside they seized nearly 200 pounds of marijuana in four hockey bags. Daniel MacLeod and Ricky Clark were arrested. Gow, Clark and MacLeod have all been indicted and are fugitives in Canada.