Spokane skinhead jailed for smuggling

The founder of the Eastern Washington skinheads was sentenced Tuesday to 14 months in federal prison for smuggling an illegal immigrant into the United States.

James Douglas Ross, 26, of Spokane, was given an additional six months, to be served consecutively, by Senior U.S. District Court Judge Frem Nielsen for violating terms of supervised release from a previous federal conviction.

Ross was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents Dec. 14 near the Laurier Port of Entry on the U.S.-Canadian border.

He was driving a pickup occupied by Angela L. Kierstead, 32, of Lakesville, New Brunswick, who earlier had been denied legal entry into the United States, authorities said.

Ross pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in February, admitting he helped Kierstead illegally enter the United States after the two communicated online.

Ross was accused of making arrangements to transport Kierstead after she apparently walked across the border. Authorities said she is associated with white supremacy groups in Canada.

Ross was convicted in U.S. District Court in Spokane in 2005 of making a false statement on forms he filled out to purchase a handgun from a Spokane Valley pawn shop. He was sentenced to eight months in prison and three years of supervised release on that charge.

While on supervised release, he was to have no contact with other white supremacists – a condition he violated by helping Kierstead illegally enter the United States.