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Press Release

Information: Federal Court Arraignments

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana

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 Ostby in Billings, on November 19, 2015 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • CLAY DOUGLAS SIEMSEN, a 55-year-old resident of Lockwood, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, SIEMSEN faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation Task Force.  PACER Case Reference.  15-138
  • NOEL THOMAS WHITEMAN, a 38-year-old resident of Lodge Grass, appeared on charges of failure to register as a sexual offender.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, WHITEMAN faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and lifetime supervised release.  The case was investigated by the United States Marshals Service.  PACER Case Reference.  15-135

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings, on November 17, 2015 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • RACHAEL RUIZ, a 30-year-old resident of Kalispell, 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 charge contained in the indictment, RUIZ faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  PACER Case Reference.  15-133

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings, on November 13, 2015 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • BRUCE ROBERT LEWIS, JR., a 46-year-old resident of Pasadena, Texas, appeared on charges of felon in possession of a firearm.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, LEWIS faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  PACER Case Reference.  15-106

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls, on November 12, 2015 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • SAUL VALENCIA, a 39-year-old resident of Mexico, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, VALENCIA faces 40 years in prison, $5,000,000 in fines and 4 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Russell Country Drug Task Force and the Havre Tri-Agency Task Force.  PACER Case Reference.  15-78

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula, on November 12, 2015 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • MATTHEW ERIC BOUDREAU, a 21-year-old resident of Victor, appeared on charges of theft from a federal firearms licensee, possession of stolen firearms, and possession of a firearm not registered in the national firearms registration and transfer record.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, BOUDREAU faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office.  PACER Case Reference.  15-26

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula, on November 9, 2015 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • RICHARD WAYNE STROH, a 35-year-old resident of Missoula, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, STROH faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force.  PACER Case Reference.  15-31

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls, on November 2, 2015 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • JOSEPH DEAN LEE, a 27-year-old resident of Wolf Point, appeared on charges of aggravated sexual abuse, assault with the intent to commit aggravated sexual abuse, and assault with the intent to commit abusive sexual contact.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, LEE faces life in prison, $250,000 in fines and lifetime supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice.  PACER Case Reference.  15-63

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.

 

Updated February 4, 2016

Press Release Number: MELISSA HORNBEIN, Public Information Officer, (406) 457-5277