Canadian man accused in Iowa marijuana trafficking ring denied release

CEDAR RAPIDS — A man charged with marijuana trafficking in Iowa, who fought extradition from Canada for over three years, will remain in jail pending his trial, a federal magistrate ordered Tuesday.

U.S. Magistrate Jon Scoles denied release for Jason L. Boyachek, 41, of Canada, based on the charges he faces and because he previously contested extradition from 2010 to 2014. Boyachek was charged in 2009 with conspiracy to distribute marijuana and money laundering conspiracy. He is accused of trafficking marijuana with others between 2005 and May 18, 2007 in Iowa, according to a criminal complaint.

There is also a forfeiture filed in the case for $3.7 million cash, which prosecutors claim are proceeds from Boyachek's drug trafficking, according to the complaint.

In his order, Scoles said that if Boyachek was released to return to Canada and then fails to return to Iowa for trial, a second extradition hearing would be lengthy and costly. Scoles said there was probable cause that Boyachek committed the drug offense, and if convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, which was a factor he considered in his ruling.

Boyachek's trial is set for May 26 in U.S. District Court.

According to extradition documents from the Department of Justice Canada, an arrest warrant was issued Jan. 13, 2011 for Boyachek, who lived in Canada at the time. Authorities couldn't locate him until Sept. 11, 2011 and he was granted bail Sept. 27, 2011.

Boyachek 'vigorously' contested extradition and the extradition hearing took place over two years from October 2011 to Sept. 4, 2013, according to the documents. Boyachek claimed Iowa federal prosecutors 'engaged in conduct amounting to an abuse of process,' which justified a stay in extradition proceedings according to Canadian court officials.

Boyachek also argued that the main witness in his case, David Downing of West Vancouver, British Columbia, who pleaded guilty to drug and money laundering in Iowa's Northern District Court, recanted his claims against Boyachek in the conspiracy, according to the documents.

Within the extradition documents, Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Reinert laid out some of the conspiracy for the Canadian court. According to a plea agreement, Downing pleaded guilty to drug and money laundering and he agreed to testify against Boyachek.

Reinert said Downing would testify that in 2005 he moved to Chicago and started assisting Boyachek in a marijuana smuggling business to repay a debt to him. He will also testify the marijuana was smuggled into the states from Canada and then shipped to Chicago, according to documents.

Downing said he and Boyachek distributed marijuana in the Chicago area, as well as to other locations including Boston and New York. Downing started working for Boyachek counting money from the sale of drugs and then became more involved with the distribution in 2006. They eventually split money from the trafficking business. Boyachek then went back to Canada and he directed Downing to take over the Chicago distribution hub.

According to court documents, authorities started an investigation into the operation May 2007 after U.S. Customs and Border Patrol in North Dakota found a Canadian semi with 600 pounds of marijuana. The semi was headed to a storage shed near Delaware. The marijuana was repackaged and investigators followed it to Chicago and arrested Downing and others waiting to receive the shipments. Jeff Kopp, a former Marion chiropractor, was also involved this ring and was convicted in 2008, according to court documents. The investigation spanned three years and federal authorities arrested 38 people and seized 7,000 pounds of marijuana, 1,300 pounds of cocaine and more than $3.5 million in cash.

According to the extradition documents, Downing told federal prosecutors he would testify about prior drug cash seizures from Boyachek and others in the organization, specifically a 2006 seizure of $738,650 in cash stored in Boyachek's locker in Chicago.

Downing, who already served his time in prison and had returned to Canada, provided an affidavit in 2012 for Boyachek's extradition hearing and recanted what he admitted to in the Iowa federal plea deal. He said the summary of evidence the prosecution had was a 'fabrication or wishful thinking.'

Then later, Downing in a second affidavit to the Canadian court, recanted his other statements and made allegations about the conduct of Boyachek's attorney, who questioned him for the affidavit to be used at the extradition hearing.

The extradition judge changed her ruling and didn't allow Downing's affidavit as evidence and the Minister of Justice of Canada rejected Boyachek's claims of abuse of process and he was ordered to surrender. Boyachek then appealed and applied for judicial review of the minister's decision, according to the documents. The British Columbia Court of Appeal dismissed the committal appeal and application for judicial review Nov. 14, 2014.

Boyachek then applied to the Supreme Court of Canada, but finally gave up and surrendered to U.S. authorities last week.