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Customs saw nothing wrong with suspect
The Boston Herald Online ^ | Wednesday, June 8, 2005 | AP

Posted on 06/08/2005 8:40:54 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts

On April 25, Gregory Despres arrived at the U.S.-Canadian border crossing at Calais, Maine, carrying a homemade sword, a hatchet, a knife, brass knuckles and a chain saw stained with what appeared to be blood. U.S. customs agents confiscated the weapons and fingerprinted Despres.

      Then they let him into the United States.
      The following day, a gruesome scene was discovered in Despres' hometown of Minto, New Brunswick: The decapitated body of a 74-year-old country musician named Frederick Fulton on Fulton's kitchen floor. His head was in a pillowcase under a kitchen table. His common-law wife was discovered stabbed to death in a bedroom.
      Despres, 22, immediately became a suspect because of a history of violence between him and his neighbors, and he was arrested April 27 after police in Mattapoisett saw him wandering down a highway in a sweatshirt with red and brown stains. He is now in jail in Massachusetts on murder charges, awaiting an extradition hearing next month.
      At a time when the United States is tightening its borders, how could a man toting what appeared to be a bloody chain saw be allowed into the country?
      Bill Anthony, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said the Canada-born Despres could not be detained because he is a naturalized U.S. citizen and was not wanted on any criminal charges on the day in question.
     Anthony said Despres was questioned for two hours before he was released. During that time, he said, customs agents employed ``every conceivable method'' to check for warrants or see if Despres had broken any laws in trying to re-enter the country.
      ``Nobody asked us to detain him,'' Anthony said. ``Being bizarre is not a reason to keep somebody out of this country or lock them up. . . . We are governed by laws and regulations, and he did not violate any regulations.''
     ``Our people don't have a crime lab up there. They can't look at a chain saw and decide if it's blood or rust or red paint.''

Gregory Despres


TOPICS: Canada; Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: Maine; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: bordersecurity; customs; immigration; notagain; suspect; terror
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Hoo boy. Where is Sherlock Holmes when you need him?
1 posted on 06/08/2005 8:40:55 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
Being bizarre is not a reason to keep somebody out of this country or lock them up

I guess neither is being an Islamic extremist or an illegal alien.

2 posted on 06/08/2005 8:42:56 AM PDT by BushisTheMan
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
could not be detained because he is a naturalized U.S. citizen and was not wanted on any criminal charges on the day in question

So what do you want them to do? Deny re-entry to a U.S. citizen who wasn't breaking any laws?

3 posted on 06/08/2005 8:43:38 AM PDT by kevkrom (Jack Bauer / Chloe O'Brien '08)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

Same look as Charles Manson!!


4 posted on 06/08/2005 8:43:55 AM PDT by refermech
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To: Marine Inspector

Ping.


5 posted on 06/08/2005 8:45:41 AM PDT by Terabitten (I have a duty as an AMERICAN, not a Republican. We can never put Party above Nation.)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

Reported on the news this am, the guy showed a driver's license, but one digit was obscured, so the clerk entering the number simply tried one number after another until she got a hit. Bingo. He was wanted by the mounties for murder.


6 posted on 06/08/2005 8:46:32 AM PDT by hershey
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Comment #7 Removed by Moderator

To: Bloody Sam Roberts

"a chain saw stained with what appeared to be blood"

"``Nobody asked us to detain him,'' Anthony said."

Government employee response.


8 posted on 06/08/2005 8:47:21 AM PDT by Betaille (Capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries)
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To: hershey

That's how they caught him.


9 posted on 06/08/2005 8:47:28 AM PDT by hershey
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1418631/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1418664/posts


10 posted on 06/08/2005 8:47:47 AM PDT by TexasGunLover ("Either you're with us or you're with the terrorists."-- President George W. Bush)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

Why do his eyes remind me of Jennifer Wilbanks?


11 posted on 06/08/2005 8:51:13 AM PDT by PBRSTREETGANG
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
Yep, nothing suspicious at all about this dude. Gotta let him through. Yet the last time I traveled by air with my family, we got pulled out of line by the TSA slugs for a "random search". Really suspicious looking, I guess, a family traveling with a child. But, then again, they had to pick me to meet their quota (white middle-aged male, exactly the profile of the 9-11 hijackers).

(/sarc)
12 posted on 06/08/2005 8:51:42 AM PDT by chimera
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

I guess carrying a chainsaw, guns etc. does not qualify to be detained. Whoaaaa......what security department we have got?


13 posted on 06/08/2005 8:52:10 AM PDT by freekitty
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To: hugoball
"a chain saw stained with what appeared to be blood" "``Nobody asked us to detain him,'' Anthony said." CONGRATULATIONS!!! YOU'VE WON THE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEE OF THE YEAR AWARD!!!
14 posted on 06/08/2005 8:52:56 AM PDT by Betaille (Capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; Socialism is the equal sharing of miseries)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

Posted here with 98 replies and pictures:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1418234/posts

And here with 14 replies:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1418664/posts


15 posted on 06/08/2005 8:54:51 AM PDT by Graybeard58 (Remember and pray for Spec.4 Matt Maupin - MIA/POW- Iraq since 04/09/04)
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To: kevkrom
So what do you want them to do? Deny re-entry to a U.S. citizen who wasn't breaking any laws?

Every day, citizens in this country have their rights violated for far less by jerks who aren't fit to wear a uniform.

Even if they only suspected there was blood on the chainsaw, they had the power to detain him until lab tests were completed. Reasonable suspicion.

16 posted on 06/08/2005 8:56:10 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts ("It's a 'dog eat dog' world out there and I'm wearing Milk-Bone underwear.")
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts
Separated at birth?


17 posted on 06/08/2005 8:58:40 AM PDT by Rebelbase (Mexico, the 51st state.)
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To: Bloody Sam Roberts

18 posted on 06/08/2005 8:58:47 AM PDT by r9etb
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To: kevkrom
Our freedoms will not be taken from us, we will surrender them when we no longer have the will to take the risks that come when living with said freedoms.
19 posted on 06/08/2005 8:59:47 AM PDT by kublia khan (total war brings absolute victory)
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To: TexasGunLover; Admin Moderator
Ya see...that's the problem with following posting guidelines.
I did a search based on the original title and came up with nothing.

So, now are we supposed to search the entire web for every possible permutation of a headline to be sure that no one here has posted the story before?
I did due diligence. But thanks for providing the links to the other posts.

AM, pull this one if need be.

20 posted on 06/08/2005 9:00:00 AM PDT by Bloody Sam Roberts ("It's a 'dog eat dog' world out there and I'm wearing Milk-Bone underwear.")
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