The United States Attorney's Office announced that during a federal court session in Missoula, on February 22, 2012, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeremiah C. Lynch, the following individual was arraigned:

SEAN PATRICK ELLIFRITT, a 41-year-old resident of Spokane Valley, Washington, appeared on a charge of distribution of methamphetamine. He is currently detained. If convicted of this charge, ELLIFRITT faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison and could be sentenced to 40 years, a $2,000,000 fine and 4 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paulette L. Stewart is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was a cooperative effort between the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Montana Department of Criminal Investigation.

The defendant pled not guilty to the charge.

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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