Stuttgart stumbles at Freiburg and Leipzig prevails against Bochum in Bundesliga openers

BERLIN (AP) — Bundesliga runner-up Stuttgart started the new season with a 3-1 loss at Freiburg, while Leipzig survived a sending off to beat Bochum 1-0 on Saturday.

Ermedin Demirović fired Stuttgart into an early lead at his former club with a scissors-kick in the second minute, but that was as good as it good for Sebastian Hoeneß’ team, which amassed a club-record points total last season.

Freiburg, which was playing its first league game since long-serving coach Christian Streich’s retirement, responded with three goals to give new coach Julian Schuster a winning start.

Bochum was unable to capitalize on Leipzig captain Willi Orban’s late sending off for denying Myron Boadu a clear goal chance. The 19-year-old Antonio Nusa’s second-half strike on his Bundesliga debut was enough for Leipzig.

Holstein Kiel endured a tough welcome to the league in a 3-2 loss at Hoffenheim, where the promoted side conceded an early penalty and had a player sent off late.

Augsburg drew with Werder Bremen 2-2, and Mainz held Union Berlin 1-1.

Borussia Dortmund was hosting Eintracht Frankfurt later, when the home fans had protests planned against their club’s sponsorship deal with an arms manufacturer. Nuri Sahin was also making his Bundesliga debut as Dortmund coach.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Bremen's Justin Njinmah celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between FC Augsburg and Werder Bremen at WWK-Arena, Augsburg, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Harry Langer/dpa via AP)

Mainz's Nadiem Amiri celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Union Berlin, at Mewa Arena, Mainz, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Torsten Silz/dpa via AP)

Union's Laszlo Benes celebrates scoring during the Bundesliga soccer match between FSV Mainz 05 and 1. FC Union Berlin, at Mewa Arena, Mainz, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Torsten Silz/dpa via AP)

Stuttgart's Maximilian Mittelstädt, right, and Freiburg's Lukas Kubler in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart at Europa-Park Stadium, Freiburg, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)

Stuttgart's Ermedin Demirovic, right, celebrates scoring with teammate Atakan Karazor during the Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart at Europa-Park Stadium, Freiburg, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)

Freiburg's Vincenzo Grifo, left, and Stuttgart's Pascal Stenzel in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart at Europa-Park Stadium, Freiburg, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)

Freiburg's Vincenzo Grifo, left, and Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling in action during the Bundesliga soccer match between SC Freiburg and VfB Stuttgart at Europa-Park Stadium, Freiburg, Germany, Saturday Aug. 24, 2024. (Philipp von Ditfurth/dpa via AP)

FERGUS FALLS, Minn. (AP) — A jury convicted two men of charges related to human smuggling for their roles in an international operation that led to the deaths of a family of Indian migrants who froze while trying to cross the Canada-U.S. border during a 2022 blizzard, according to a prosecution spokesperson.

Harshkumar Ramanlal Patel, 29, an Indian national who prosecutors say went by the alias “Dirty Harry,” and Steve Shand, 50, an American from Florida, were part of a sophisticated illegal operation that has brought increasing numbers of Indians into the U.S, prosecutors said.

They were each convicted on four counts related to human smuggling, including conspiracy to bring migrants into the country illegally.

“This trial exposed the unthinkable cruelty of human smuggling and of those criminal organizations that value profit and greed over humanity,” Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger said.

"To earn a few thousand dollars, these traffickers put men, women and children in extraordinary peril leading to the horrific and tragic deaths of an entire family. Because of this unimaginable greed, a father, a mother and two children froze to death in sub-zero temperatures on the Minnesota-Canadian border,” Luger added.

The men could face maximum sentences as long as 20 years for the first two counts, 10 years for the third count and five years for the fourth count, the U.S. Attorney’s Office told The Associated Press before the trial. Luger said Friday that various factors will be considered in determining the sentence that will be sought.

Federal prosecutors said 39-year-old Jagdish Patel; his wife, Vaishaliben, who was in her mid-30s; their 11-year-old daughter, Vihangi; and 3-year-old son, Dharmik, froze to death Jan. 19, 2022, while trying to cross the border into Minnesota in a scheme organized by Patel and Shand. Patel is a common Indian surname, and the victims were not related to Harshkumar Patel.

Before the jury’s conviction on Friday, the federal trial in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, saw testimony from an alleged participant in the smuggling ring, a survivor of the treacherous journey across the northern border, border patrol agents and forensic experts.

Defense attorneys were pitted against each other, with Shand’s team arguing that he was unwittingly roped into the scheme by Patel. Patel’s lawyers, The Canadian Press reported, said their client had been misidentified. They said “Dirty Hary,” the alleged nickname for Patel found in Shand’s phone, is a different person. Bank records and witness testimony from those who encountered Shand near the border don’t tie him to the crime, they added.

Prosecutors said Patel coordinated the operation while Shand was a driver. Shand was to pick up 11 Indian migrants on the Minnesota side of the Canadian border, prosecutors said. Only seven survived the foot crossing. Canadian authorities found two parents and their young children later that morning, dead from the cold.

Minnesota U.S. Attorney Andy Luger addresses reporters on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024, at the federal courthouse in Fergus Falls, Minn., after two men were found guilty of human smuggling charges in connection with a case that led to the deaths of a family of four from India, who tried to cross the Canada-U.S. border during a blizzard in 2022. (AP Photo/Mark Vancleave)

FILE - Road signage is posted just outside of Emerson, Manitoba on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP)

In an image released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, shows how the migrants who survived the crossing were terribly inadequately dressed. (U.S. Attorney's Office via AP)

In an undated image released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, shows items found in a migrant child’s backpack. (U.S. Attorney's Office via AP)

FILE - Road signage is posted just outside of Emerson, Manitoba, Jan. 20, 2022. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP, File)

The Edward J. Devitt U.S. Courthouse and Federal building is seen, where two men on trial face human smuggling charges, Monday, Nov. 18, 2024, in Fergus Falls, Minn. (AP Photo/Michael Goldberg)

This combination image shows left to right; undated photo released by the Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office shows Harshkumar Patel in Elk River, Minn., and undated photo released by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement shows Steve Shand. (AP Photo)

FILE - A border marker, between the United States and Canada is shown just outside of Emerson, Manitoba, on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. (John Woods/The Canadian Press via AP, File)