Texas murder suspected arrested in Halifax to have deportation hearing

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This article was published 02/01/2020 (1776 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

HALIFAX — A man suspected of murder in Texas and arrested by police in Halifax earlier this week will go before the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to determine whether he should be sent back to the United States.

Derek Cameron Whisenand was arrested Monday after police were called about a shoplifter at a business in the city’s Bayer’s Lake area.

He was subsequently turned over to the Canada Border Services Agency, and officials said he remains in custody after a 48-hour detention review before the board on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the Immigration and Refugee Board said Whisenand will have a mandatory seven-day detention review hearing Wednesday, and could have an admissibility hearing either then or at a later date on the allegation he is inadmissible to Canada on the grounds of serious criminality outside of Canada.

The 28-year-old, originally from North Dakota, is a suspect in the death of a 78-year-old man in Eastland County, Texas, about 170 kilometres southwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

RCMP issued a warning in July stating Whisenand had illegally crossed into Canada near Haskett, Man., during the week of June 24.

He was seen at a Walmart store in Winkler on June 26, and later made his way to Carman. Police believe Whisenand got a ride from Carman to Winnipeg that afternoon and was dropped off at the Junior’s restaurant at 785 St Mary’s Rd. at about 3:30 p.m.

After that, the trail went cold. RCMP had asked anyone who had given him a ride to come forward.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 3, 2020.