The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Billings, on February 10, 2011, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn S. Ostby, the following individuals were arraigned:

ANJEL GUITERREZ AGUILAR, age 21, and JOSE AGUILAR, JR., age 24, residents of Las Vegas, Nevada, appeared on charges of distribution of methamphetamine. They are currently detained. If convicted of these charges, they each face possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison and could be sentenced to 40 years, a $2,000,000 fine and at least 4 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Seykora is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was a cooperative effort between Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Billings Big Sky Safe Streets Task Force, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Montana Air Branch.

The defendants pled not guilty to the charges.

These charges are part of a coordinated national effort to combat gangs and gang-related violence through federal prosecutions of members and associates. The Department of Justice announced on February 9, 2011, that more than 41 members of various street gangs have been charged in indictments or criminal complaints unsealed Wednesday in five judicial districts. In total, 112 defendants have been charged, pled guilty or been sentenced in February 2011 as part of this ongoing effort involving U.S. Attorneys' Offices across the country, the Criminal Division's Gang Unit, and federal, state and local law enforcement partners.

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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