Missouri man pleads guilty to illegally crossing U.S. – Canada border

BANGOR, Maine — A Missouri man pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Bangor to failing to present at a border crossing point.

According to court records, in April 2023, Clayton Dehaven, 39, was observed walking with a flashlight down a road on the Canadian side of the border in the Union Corners area of Hodgdon. A minivan was observed parked on the U.S. side of the border. A person, later identified as Dehaven’s wife, was observed crouching in the bushes and then running across the border to the van. Dehaven was then also seen running across the border and entering the driver’s side of the van. After being apprehended by the U.S. Border Patrol, Dehaven admitted that he had illegally crossed from Canada into the U.S. without going through a designated border crossing point.

Dehaven faces up to one year in prison and up to a $100,000 fine followed by up to one year of supervised release. He will be sentenced after the completion of a presentence investigation report by the U.S. Probation Office. A federal district judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case.