Information: Federal Court Arraignments

The United States Attorney's Office today 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 Strong in Great Falls on April 18, 2014 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• LLIAM MICHAEL LANCASTER, a 31-year-old resident of Louisville, Kentucky, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, LANCASTER faces 20 years imprisonment, $1,000,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Missouri River Drug Task Force. PACER Case Reference: 14-03

• SUS PIMENTAL-LOPEZ, 22, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, PIMENTAL-LOPEZ faces life imprisonment, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. PACER Case Reference: 13-24

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on April 21, 2014 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• RRY DALE HILL, a 62-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of being a felon in possession of firearms and ammunition. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, HILL faces 10 years imprisonment, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. PACER Case Reference: 14-45

• DD JAMES NESIUS, a 33-year-old resident of Wheatland, Wyoming, appeared on charges of possession of stolen firearms. If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, NESIUS faces 10 years imprisonment, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. PACER Case Reference: 14-11

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on April 22, 2014 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• VID LEE BARNARD, JR. a 43-year-old resident of Billings appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, BARNARD faces life imprisonment, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years imprisonment. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Task Force, Eastern Montana HIDTA and Montana Division of Criminal Investigations. PACER Case Reference: 14-38

• VID LEE GOFFENA, a 46-year-old resident of Roundup, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, distribution of methamphetamine, conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, GOFFENA faces life imprisonment, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Task Force, Eastern Montana HIDTA and Montana Division of Criminal Investigations. PACER Case Reference: 14-38

• RSTA ELAINE GOFFENA, a 38-year-old resident of Roundup, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, GOFFENA faces life imprisonment, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Task Force, Eastern Montana HIDTA and Montana Division of Criminal Investigations. PACER Case Reference: 14-38

• RARDO LOPEZ MARTINEZ, a 38-year-old resident of Los Angeles, California, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, MARTINEZ faces life imprisonment, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Task Force, Eastern Montana HIDTA and Montana Division of Criminal Investigations. PACER Case Reference: 14-38

• DY WILLIAM SIMPSON, a 25-year-old resident of Taft, California, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, SIMPSON faces life imprisonment, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Task Force, Eastern Montana HIDTA and Montana Division of Criminal Investigations. PACER Case Reference: 14-38

• RIO ALBERT VILLEGAS, a 32-year-old resident of Los Angeles, California, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, VILLEGAS faces life imprisonment, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, FBI Task Force, Eastern Montana HIDTA and Montana Division of Criminal Investigations. PACER Case Reference: 14-38

The indictment is merely a formal charging document. It is not proof of guilt and all persons indicted are presumed to be innocent of any crime until proof of guilt is established by trial or guilty plea.

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.