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 Lynch in Missoula on April 21, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• CHRISTOPHER CONVERSE HARLING, of Missoula, appeared on charges of receipt of child pornography.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, HARLING faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and lifetime supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and Missoula Police Department.  PACER Case Reference. 16-18

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on April 19, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• FX DRILLING COMPANY, of Shelby, appeared on charges of negligent discharge of oil into waters of the United States in a quantity that may be harmful.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, FX DRILLING COMPANY faces 5 years in prison, $500,000 in fines, and 1 year supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency.  PACER Case Reference. 16-20

• ERIC J. MARTELL, a 44-year-old resident of Wolf Point, appeared on charges of obstruction of the mail.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, MARTELL faces 6 months in prison and $5,000 in fines.  The case was investigated by the United States Postal Service Office of Inspector General.  PACER Case Reference. 16-02

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on April 13, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• JACQUELINE MARIE KIRKALDIE, a 29-year-old resident of Harlem, appeared on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, KIRKALDIE faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines, and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.  PACER Case Reference. 16-32

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on April 13, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• DAVID LAWRENCE SCHEIN, a 59-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and manufacturing methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, SCHEIN faces 20 years in prison, $1,000,000 in fines, and 4 years supervised release. The case was investigated by the Bureau of Land Management.  PACER Case Reference. 16-39

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on April 12, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• MATTHEW STONEY OLSON, a 37-year-old resident of Circle, appeared on charges of receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography. If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, OLSON faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines, and lifetime supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Homeland Security Investigations and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.  PACER Case Reference. 16-30

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on April 11, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• CLIFFORD AIMSBACK, a 21-year-old resident of Browning, appeared on charges of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, AIMSBACK 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. 16-33

• CHRISTIE MARIE FARMER, a 37-year-old resident of Browning, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, FARMER faces 20 years in prison, $1,000,000 in fines, and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference. 16-28

• THOMAS BLACKFACE GRANT, a 67-year-old resident of Heart Butte, appeared on charges of aggravated sexual abuse.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, GRANT faces life in prison, $250,000 in fines, and lifetime supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  PACER Case Reference. 16-34

• JOHN ALVIN HODSON, a 44-year-old resident of Browning, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, HODSON faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines, and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration and Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference. 16-25

• JOSIE MARIE MAFFITT, a 38-year-old resident of Great Falls, appeared on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, MAFFITT faces 40 years in prison, $5,000,000 in fines, and 4 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration. PACER Case Reference. 16-31

• LAVONNIE JEAN MCMANUS, a 39-year-old resident of Hungary Horse, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, MCMANUS faces 20 years in prison, $10,000,000 in fines, and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Drug Enforcement Administration, and Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference. 16-26

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.