Canadian woman sentenced for federal firearm and drug violations

BANGOR, Maine — A Canadian woman who was arrested at the U.S.-Canada border, and who pleaded guilty to drug and firearm violations, was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison. The sentence followed a joint investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).

Janaya A. Crawley, 23, of Nova Scotia, Canada, was also sentenced to two years of supervised release by Chief U.S. District Court Judge John A. Woodcock, Jr.

On May 16, 2011, Crawley pleaded guilty to a two-count indictment charging her with being an addict in possession of a firearm and with possession of a controlled substance.

Court records reveal that on March 2, 2011, Crawley was in a vehicle that arrived from Canada at the Calais, Maine, Port of Entry. During an inspection of the vehicle, a CBP officer searched Crawley's purse and found a loaded handgun. Officers also found a second loaded handgun inside the vehicle. The gun manufacturer's serial number had been obliterated and removed from that firearm.

As officers continued to search Crawley and the rest of the vehicle, they seized 344 Esctasy pills. Court records indicate Crawley was addicted to Ecstasy, and had been using it regularly for several months prior to her entry into the U.S. Investigators also learned that on March 2, 2011, Crawley had consumed several Ecstasy pills over the course of the day.

The sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II, District of Maine.