Information: Federal Court Arraignments

The United States Attorney’s Office announced that those persons listed below were arraigned before the U.S. Magistrate and the indictments handed down by the Grand Jury unsealed.

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on December 14, 2017 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• LAFAVEN DESHAWN ADAMS, a 46-year-old resident of Paramount, California, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute oxycodone, and possession with intent to distribute oxycodone.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, ADAMS faces 20 years in prison, $1,000,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the Russell Country Drug Task Force.   PACER Case Reference.  17-49

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on December 12, 2017 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• KORDELL KYLE BIG KNIFE, a 23-year-old resident of Box Elder, appeared on charges of assault resulting in substantial bodily injury.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, BIG KNIFE faces 5 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.   PACER Case Reference.  17-79

• WACEY MOUNTAIN CHIEF, a 30-year-old resident of Browning, appeared on charges of strangulation.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, MOUNTAIN CHIEF faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the, Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  17-83

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula on December 12, 2017 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• TYRELL BELGARDE, a 27-year-old resident of Browning, appeared on charges of strangulation and assault resulting in substantial bodily injury.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, BELGARDE faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  17-72

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on December 5, 2017 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• CHERYLE WHITE HAWK JORDAN, a 50-year-old resident of Sidney, appeared on charges of mail fraud, false claim to the federal government, and false statement to federal agent. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, JORDAN faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Interior Office of Inspector General.   PACER Case Reference.  17-74

• GEORGIE ELAINE RUSSELL, a 36-year-old resident of Box Elder, appeared on charges of theft from an Indian tribal government receiving federal grants, theft from an Indian tribal organization, and false statements regarding federal funding.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, RUSSELL faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the U.S. Department of Interior Office of Inspector General.   PACER Case Reference.  16-46

If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system so that you stay current and not miss any important developments in the case.

To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.