Navy reservist pleads not guilty to charge of smuggling immigrants

SEATTLE – A Navy reservist faces a maximum 10 years in prison if convicted of smuggling Indian and Pakistani nationals into the country from British Columbia.

Lawrence Carter, 23, of Oak Harbor, pleaded not guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court to one count of smuggling and transporting illegal immigrants.

He’s one of 14 men from Washington and Canada indicted by a federal grand jury and accused of bringing 54 people, who had paid as much as $35,000 apiece, into this country illegally. Investigators believe Carter worked as a driver in the smuggling ring.

Carter’s attorney, Pete Mazzone, said Carter was honorably discharged from the Navy in July 2005. He’s currently in the Navy Reserve but not on active duty, said a spokeswoman at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station.