A convicted cigarette smuggler arrested in Caledonia last week has been denied bail on a number of unrelated criminal charges, including robbery and assaulting police.
Skyler Williams, 24, who pleaded guilty to a smuggling charge in Cornwall last month, was among nine people arrested when a heavily armed OPP tactical team cleared a small pocket of native protesters from the Stirling Woods building site last Wednesday.
He was charged with assaulting police and resisting arrest and mischief under the Criminal Code for interfering with lawful use of property.
Justice of the peace Paul Welsh refused his application for bail yesterday after his father, William Williams, of Ohsweken, and his wife, Stacey Skye, testified on his behalf and offered to act as sureties.
Welsh imposed a gag order on the proceedings which prohibits the publication of testimony, submissions or his reasons for refusing bail.
At the time of his arrest in Caledonia, Williams was on bail facing outstanding charges of robbery and assault in connection with an attack on two CH television cameramen at the Canadian Tire parking lot in Caledonia on June 9, 2006.
Sergeant Michael Harvey, spokesperson for the St. Lawrence Valley RCMP, said Williams was arrested in Cornwall on June 5, 2007, and charged with smuggling 1,300 bags of contraband cigarettes from the United States through the Akwesasne- Mohawk territory into Canada.
He was also picked up on an outstanding warrant for the Canadian Tire robbery and assault charges. He was returned to Caledonia to face the charges and was released on bail two days later.
Harvey said the contraband cigarettes, which were produced in the United States, had no labels and were being transported in clear resealable plastic bags. Williams was driving a van he had rented in Mississauga.
Harvey said such cigarettes typically end up on shops on native territories in Quebec and Ontario, such as the Six Nations reserve, where they sell for $10 to $20 a bag. The smuggler gets $4 to $6.
On Aug. 13, Williams pleaded guilty to charges under Section 32 (1) of the Excise Act of 2001 for having possession of a tobacco product that wasn't properly stamped. He was fined $42,900, placed on probation for one year and ordered to do 150 hours of community service. He was given one year to pay the fine or face an 18-month jail sentence.
On Sept. 6, Harvey said, the Cornwall RCMP issued a warrant for Williams' arrest on two charges of allegedly breaching his bail conditions. He also faces an outstanding arrest warrant from the Six Nations police.
The other eight persons charged at Stirling Woods were all released on bail after spending the night in jail.