Nurse confident sprinter won't run

By Mike Howell-Staff writer

A former Mexican track star has been released on bail after being arrested at Vancouver International Airport with about $20,000 concealed in his clothes and shoes.

Ricardo Gonzalez Henderson, 30, of Mazatlan, and two other Mexican men are alleged to have traded about a kilogram of cocaine in Australia before arriving at the Vancouver airport April 7.

All three men face two counts of proceeds-of-crime-related charges after Canada Customs officers seized about $67,000 in U.S. and Australian currency from the men during an inspection at the airport.

Rigoberto Ramos Rosaldo and Raul Romero Aceves remain in custody and will appear in Richmond provincial court Tuesday. Henderson, who once held Mexico's 400-metre sprint record and competed in the 1992 Pan American Games, elected to have a bail hearing, where he was released Thursday.

Judge Joel Groberman handed Henderson over to the custody of a Port Moody woman and her family, who agreed to put up their house as collateral. Groberman imposed a surety bail of $40,000, warning the woman she could have to forfeit her house to the court if Henderson fled Canada.

He emphasized to the woman the seriousness of the allegations against Henderson and said she didn't need to make what he described as a "devastating decision." The woman shares her home with her husband and three children.

The woman, who works as a nurse and used to be married to Henderson's second cousin, told Groberman she has known Henderson since he was seven years old and didn't believe he posed a flight risk. Without the woman's consent to look after Henderson, Groberman told the court he wouldn't have released the man, who runs the family's real estate business in Mazatlan, Mexico.

"You're amazing," Groberman told the woman, who was seated in the courtroom next to Henderson's brother and a woman from the Mexican consulate.

Prior to Henderson's release, lawyer Brian Mickelson, acting for Henderson, read excerpts of several letters to the court from supporters of Henderson, including one from his ailing father and another from the former mayor of Mazatlan.

Generally, the letters described Henderson to be an honest, hard-working businessman who coached a girls' soccer team and belonged to a good family. The news of his arrest has spread throughout Mazatlan and has shocked family and friends, the court heard.

"This many people coming forward is impressive and speaks well of him," Mickelson said.

Crown prosecutor Sherelle Goodwin told the court that Henderson allegedly concealed his portion of the money in the soles of his shoes, his jacket, his jeans and in a white grocery bag tucked in the front of his pants.

Henderson allegedly told customs officers he was bringing the money back to Mexico for a man named Carlos. Based on the evidence against Henderson, Goodwin asked the judge to detain the man.

Groberman imposed several conditions on Henderson, including surrendering his passport to the court and reporting to a bail supervisor. His next court date is Tuesday, where he is supposed to appear with the other two men charged in the case.