The owner of a popular bed-and-breakfast on the U.S.-Canada border will remain behind bars while a judge considers whether he should be released on bail.
Robert Boule is the proprietor of the Smuggler’s Inn, located on Canada View Drive in Blaine, Wash. He faces 21 charges under the Immigration Act, including attempts to “organize, induce, aid, abet” at least seven people to cross the border into B.C.
The charges date from May 2018 to March 2019. None of them have been proven in court.
Boule, who wore a red prison sweatshirt Wednesday, did not speak during the hearing in Surrey, B.C. The judge, at his lawyer’s request, allowed Boule to sit alongside his counsel, still wearing his leg shackles.
Greg Boos, a longtime friend and Boule’s lawyer in the U.S., was in court, and called Boule “a pillar of the community.”
“Bob has a heart of gold,” Boos said. “When someone has a disaster in the (community), Bob is the first one to hold a fundraiser for them.”
Boos also told CTV News Vancouver that Boule was arrested last week while reporting to his bail officer in Canada in connection with other charges. Court records show Boule was indicted on nine separate charges last year that also deal with helping illegal migrants cross into Canada.
The judge is scheduled to decide whether Boule will be released on bail, and if so, under what conditions, on April 25.
