The man acquitted of driving a motorcycle up to 299 kilometres an hour on the Trans-Canada Highway through Greater Victoria thinks media coverage of a viral YouTube video may be to blame for him being denied entry to Mexico — twice.
Randy Scott, the 26-year-old found not guilty of dangerous driving in October, left for Cancun on Saturday for a friend’s wedding. When the plane landed, everyone was told to stay seated and he was escorted off the plane by armed customs agents.
Scott told the Times Colonist he was taken into a holding cell and interrogated about his criminal record. He came clean about past weapons charges and an assault charge but didn’t mention the dangerous driving charge. He was never convicted on any of the charges.
“I forgot to mention the dangerous driving because I don’t even consider that criminal or whatever,” Scott said, even though the criminal trial lasted several days and was extensively reported.
Mexican officials said, “motorcycle, motorcycle,” and made throttle-twisting hand gestures, “and I said, ‘Oh, I totally forgot about that.’ ”
Scott was acquitted last fall by Judge Robert Higinbotham, who said he had reasonable doubt as to who was in the driver’s seat. The video, shot from a camera mounted on the motorcycle, showed the bike weaving at high speed through traffic in April 2012. It has been viewed almost 1.8 million times on YouTube.
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Scott said he has no idea how officials in Mexico became aware of the Victoria case.
Mexican officials marched Scott through the airport and put him on the first plane back to Canada — to Regina. He flew to Vancouver on Sunday.
On Monday, he decided to fly to Cancun again. “I thought it was a fluke or a misunderstanding or something,” Scott said. “So I just tried again.”
This time, he made it off the plane but was stopped when a customs agent swiped his passport.
Back in the holding cell, one of the customs agents recognized him and it wasn’t long before Scott was on a plane back to Vancouver, deported a second time.
In Vancouver, Canada Border Services Agency officials grilled Scott on what he could have possibly done, above and beyond the criminal charges, to get himself deported twice. “They wanted to know why I was denied twice and I had no explanation for them,” Scott said.
Mexico’s embassy in Canada said immigration authorities may refuse someone entry into the country if “the applicant is subject to criminal process or has been convicted of a serious crime … or if the applicant’s background in Mexico or abroad could compromise national or public security.”
Scott learned from Canadian officials that he has an alert on his passport, which means he’ll be flagged any time he tries to get into any foreign country.
“I have no idea what this is about or who put it on there,” Scott said. “As of right now, if I can’t get into Mexico, I’m screwed [for travelling out of Canada].”
Border Services said they cannot comment on an individual file until the individual consents to have personal information released. Saanich police, who investigated the motorcycle incident, said they have not intervened in any way that would affect Scott’s ability to travel.
