A Prince George man who has been linked to the local gang scene is slated to be deported to South Africa on Monday, Feb. 8, a move his fiance's mother, Debbie Freake, says is unjust given he's lived in this country since he was 10 years old.
Francois Christiaan Meerholz, 23, was slated for deportation to South Africa Jan. 31, but there is supposed to be an issue with the other government and the process has been delayed a week, Freake said in an emotional interview Tuesday.
Citing security reasons, Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spokeswoman Shakila Manzoor declined to comment other than to say a statement will be issued if Meerholz is deported.
"Once a removal has taken place, then we'll be able to confirm that the removal did take place, but otherwise we won't provide any type of details on the removal arrangements beforehand," Manzoor said.
Police say Francois, or "Frankie," Meerholz is linked to the Game Tight Soldiers (GTS) and the Renegades biker gang, a Hells Angels puppet club. Francois is a GTS member and wears the bottom rocker or partial patch of the Renegades and his brother Dillan is at the bottom of the GTS, police say.
But Meerholz and Dillan, 20, moved to Canada in 1999 to live with relatives before they ended up in the foster care system. "This country adopted him and I was always told you don't disown your kids," Freake said. "Right or wrong, you don't disown them, they all deserve chances."
Freake also maintained the gang life is over now and Francois wants to start a new life with her daughter Ashley and said they've known each other since age 13. "This kid and my daughter need Canada to not disown this kid," Freake said.
Asked why the Meerholzes did not get their Canadian citizenship, Freake said it's a question that should be asked of the parents who originally took them in when they arrived in Canada and before they ended up in the foster system.
After convictions for theft and possession of stolen property in 2007, Francois Meerholz was ordered deported in Nov. 2008. But he was given a reprieve in March 2009 when federal officials stayed his deportation for 18 months provided he live up to a number of conditions, including not committing any criminal offences, and if charged with a criminal offence, immediately report that fact in writing to the CBSA.
Meerholz subsequently failed to report seven firearms charges from an Oct. 2009 incident. Peter Maclaurin Tunney and Albert Donald Piche face similar charges from the incident and will also go to trial in March.
After failing to report those charges, the CBSA took him into custody and, during a first appearance, before an immigration board adjudicator, Meerholz was ordered held in custody pending his removal from Canada. But that decision was overturned in a second hearing on Jan. 20.
It was reported that Dillan came up with the $5,000 bail, but Freake said she's the one who came up with the money by getting a bank loan. Freake maintains the firearms charges are overblown and amount to one gun found in a car with three people.
In a separate case, Meerholz is also facing charges of driving while impaired, dangerous driving and flight from a peace officer, allegedly committed in July 2010. A trial is scheduled for Sept. 2 on those charges.
Meerholz's lawyer during the hearing has said he failed to report the charges to CBSA under the mistaken belief he no longer needed to do so. Freake said Meerholz no longer has a lawyer because he cannot afford one.
Meerholz has no idea what sort of circumstances will greet him if he's deported to South Africa, said Freake, who added his father died from malaria after contracting the disease seven times.
"The kid's been stomped on, tromped on, trying to get things straight, trying to have a proper life," Freake said. "He's got the family he's always craved...nobody has given a damn about this kid."
