By Dominic Abassi

Nanaimo man pleads not guilty to bribing border guard

Jun 20, 2016 | 3:30 PM

A Nanaimo man accused of bribing a border guard has plead not guilty.

Court documents show 52 year old Brian James DeCoteau entered the plea at an arraignment hearing June 10th.

DeCoteau is charged with bribing a public servant, after he allegedly offered a border guard $200 to let him go when he was caught entering the U.S. at the Sumas border crossing with a small amount of marijuana and live shotgun shells on May 16th.

The documents also show DeCoteau has hired a Bellingham lawyer to represent him in the case.

Another hearing is scheduled for August 17th, and a 3-day jury trial is set to begin on August 29th.

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However, a Whatcom County Court Clerk says it’s likely the trial will be pushed back.

DeCoteau is facing a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison or a $25,000 fine for the class ‘B’ felony charge.