Thread: Man accused of piloting boat charged with smuggling

Published Monday, May 18, 2009

Man accused of piloting boat that capsized, killed 9 Haitian migrants, charged with smuggling
By CURT ANDERSON

An unidentified survivor of a boat sinking, center, is off loaded from a U.S. Coast Guard vessel at a dock in Phil Foster Park, Wednesday, May 13, 2009, in Riviera Beach, Fla. Officials say they are not sure if the boat capsized or crashed into something. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)A Haitian man was charged with human smuggling Monday after federal authorities accused him of piloting a boat overloaded with migrants that capsized off Florida's coast, killing at least nine people.

Jimmy Metellus faces charges of smuggling that caused the death of another person. He was scheduled to make an initial court appearance Wednesday in West Palm Beach. Court documents did not list an attorney for him.

Metellus was among 16 people rescued when the boat capsized early last Wednesday off Boynton Beach, about 60 miles north of Miami. Most of the survivors will be deported to their home countries under U.S. policy. Fifteen of the survivors are Haitian and one is Jamaican.

According to a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent, Metellus told investigators he was hired by a man known only as "Shine" to pilot the vessel from the Bahamas to the U.S. with about 30 undocumented migrants aboard. The affidavit says Metellus was offered $6,000 for the trip but decided instead to be paid with free passage on the boat.

"He said that the boat was going to Miami, Florida, and that he was going to beach it in Miami and leave it," ICE agent Jon Longo said in the affidavit.

One survivor, who identified Metellus as the boat's captain, told agents that his brother had paid the smugglers $4,000 for him to make the ill-fated trip. It was unclear in the affidavit how many other people were involved in the smuggling operation.

That survivor, who was not identified, said the boat ran out of fuel after leaving Nassau, Bahamas, and drifted for about three days until a small boat arrived with more fuel. The migrants then were taken to a house in Bimini, Bahamas, and later set off for Florida's southeastern coast.

The survivor said he had been in the Bahamas for five months waiting for a smuggling trip to the U.S., according to the ICE affidavit.

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Haitian man faces charges in fatal immigrant smuggling



May 18, 2009 5:53 PM ET

MIAMI (AP) - A Haitian man accused of piloting a boat that was overloaded with migrants is due in federal court in Miami on Wednesday.

The boat capsized off Florida's coast last week, killing at least nine people -- including a pregnant woman.

Jimmy Metellus is charged with smuggling that caused the death of another person. A conviction could mean a death sentence or life in prison.

Metellus was among 16 people who were rescued after the boat capsized.

Two women and a baby are still hospitalized. The other survivors are in immigration custody. Most are expected to be deported to their home countries -- Haiti, and in one case, Jamaica.



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