The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on July 12, 2011, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, the following individuals were arraigned:

PATRICK McGOVERN, age 29, and MICHAEL STRUTZEL, age 29, residents of Butte, appeared on a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. They are currently detained. If convicted of this charge, they each face possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison and could be sentenced to life, a $4,000,000 fine and at least 5 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Tara J. Elliott is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.

The defendants pled not guilty to the charges.

The charge, an indictment, information or complaint, is merely an accusation and all persons named as defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty. A pre-trial conference and a trial date will be set and the United States will be required to prove the allegations set forth in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

 

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