Jamaican man sentenced for illegal border crossing

A Jamaican man who admitted to illegally crossing into Montana from Canada and was arrested with others near Whitefish after a car chase in January is headed to prison.

Christopher White, 45, also known as Gregory White, Jahnyi Foster and Raymond White, was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison by U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen in Missoula.

White pleaded guilty on April 12 to a charge of illegal reentry of a deported or removed alien. He also will be on probation for three years, acting U.S. Attorney Leif Johnson said.

In court documents, prosecutors alleged White, a Jamaican national, was removed from the U.S. in March 2020 through New York to Canada.

On Jan. 23, White returned to the U.S. near West Kootenai and Eureka. He and two other passengers were in a car driven by Rastesfaye Neil, who led authorities on a 75-mile chase that ended near Whitefish. Neil pleaded guilty to charges and is awaiting sentencing.