Congressman questioning a 'bizarre' border crossing

Customs officials said yesterday that they were concerned when Gregory Allan Despres crossed the border from Canada into Maine on April 25 carrying a cache of weapons, as well as a chainsaw that appeared to be splattered with blood, and asserting that he worked for the president.

But after seizing the weapons, they said, they were forced to let the 22-year-old man enter the country because he is a naturalized US citizen and there was no evidence at that time that he had committed any crime.

It wasn't until the next day, when the bodies of Despres's slain neighbors were discovered in the village of Minto, New Brunswick, that he was sought in their murders. He was captured wandering around Mattapoisett, where he had previously lived, and is currently being held in Plymouth jail, facing extradition to Canada.

But US Representative Stephen F. Lynch, a South Boston Democrat, criticized customs' handling of Depres.

''If we've got that kind of evidence in our possession and yet we're not taking the necessary steps to prevent someone like that from entering the country, then I guess you have to ask what else are we doing out there in terms of trying to gather other evidence and protect the country against threats on the border," he said.

While conceding that the case involved bizarre circumstances that may not arise again soon, Lynch said it raises questions about ''whether all this investment in border security is really paying off."

Jayson Ahern, assistant commissioner for field operations for US Customs and Border Protection, insisted yesterday that the border officers did exactly what they were supposed to do.

''Certainly, there was a lot of behavior that raised concerns by our inspectors," said Ahern, confirming allegations in court records that Despres said he was a Marine sergeant who worked for the president of the United States and was waiting for a helicopter. ''He certainly did demonstrate bizarre behavior, but that's not illegal," Ahern said.

When Despres arrived at the Calais, Maine, border about 7:30 a.m. on April 25, carrying the chainsaw, a homemade sword, a hatchet, brass knuckles, and pepper spray, inspectors held him for two hours while they checked various databases and watch lists and took his fingerprints, Ahern said.

Customs inspectors also called in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Calais police and determined that there were no outstanding warrants for Despres, he said.

The inspectors discovered that Despres was supposed to appear in a New Brunswick courtroom that day to be sentenced on charges that he had assaulted and threatened the nephew of one of his neighbors, according to Ahern.

Still, Ahern said, customs inspectors were advised by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police that they couldn't take action against Despres for failing to appear in court because ''it was still early in the morning" and that it was possible Despres could appear in court later that day.

Records in Depres's extradition case filed in US District Court in Boston indicate that the warrant for his arrest was issued at 10 a.m. when he failed to appear in the Canadian court and that he wasn't released by customs officials until a half-hour later.

Ahern disputed that timeline, saying that Despres was released by customs officials at 9:30 a.m. and that they were unaware of any warrant at that time. ''If there was a warrant that was active at that point, I can assure you we would have acted on it," he said.

The federal court records also indicate that customs officers noticed ''what appeared to be blood spots" on the chainsaw. But Ahern disputed that, saying, ''There was some kind of discoloration of the chain saw, but not evidence that it was blood."

He added that the customs officers ''are not forensic scientists" and didn't know if it was blood.

Michael Milburn, chief of the Calais Police Department, said one of his officers was called in by customs to check the weapons and determined that they were legal. Milburn said the chain saw appeared to be spattered with dried blood, but ''you don't know if that's from an animal or an individual who cut himself."

Both Milburn and Ahern said they didn't know whether Depres had been asked to explain the blood on the chainsaw.

Milburn said Depres appeared to have psychological problems, but he didn't make any threats to hurt himself or anyone else and gave police no cause to arrest him.

''What a lot of people don't understand is that we acted appropriately pertaining to the information we had availabe to us at that time," Milburn said. ''There were no red flags."

The next day, Debbie Mowat discovered the decapitated body of her father, Fred Fulton, a 74-year-old country musician, on the kitchen floor of his home. His head was stuffed in a pillow case under a table. His companion, Veronica Decarie, 70, was found in her bedroom, dead of stab wounds.

Canadian police issued a bulletin indicating that Despres was wanted in connection with the slayings, and a Mattapoisett police officer arrested Despres April 27.

Carol Rose, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts, praised customs for not violating Despres's rights by holding him without probable cause, pointing out that he was quickly captured later.

''A lot of people being held based on skin color or religious garb are being detained by how they look physically when there's really no probable cause," Rose said.

But, Lynch said customs officials should have detained Depres for a longer time while they conducted a more thorough investigation.

US Magistrate Judge Marianne Bowler has ordered Despres held without bail pending an extradition hearing July 21.

While in court on May 13, as Assistant US Attorney Aloka Chakravarty described the charges against Despres, he shouted, ''I want that man shot."

Boston lawyer Michael C. Andrews, who represents Despres, said in court that Despres may not be competent to assist in his own defense.

''A decision has not been made as to whether he's going to fight his extradition and demand a probable cause hearing on the charges," Andrew said yesterday, declining to comment further.