Press Release
Informational: Federal Court arraignments
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana
The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared this week before U.S. Magistrate judges on indictments handed down by the Grand Jury or on criminal complaints. The charging documents are merely accusations and defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty:
Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on March 1 was:
David Raymond Smith, 59, of Hamilton, on charges of false statements to bank and bank fraud. If convicted of the most serious crime, Smith faces a maximum 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and five years of supervised release. Smith was released pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-01.
Laura Jeanne Haacke, 46, of Missoula, on charges of conspiracy and possession with intent to distribute. If convicted of the most serious crime, Haacke faces mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Haacke was released pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-02.
Appearing on March 2 and pleading not guilty was:
Russell Joseph Breton, 61, of Polson, on charges of possession with intent to distribute and felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Breton faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Breton was released pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Homeland Security Investigations, Polson Police Department and Lake County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-04.
Aaron Charles Foote, 34, a transient, on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious crime, Foote faces 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Foote was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-01.
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on March 3 was:
Crystal Leigh Speakthunder, 38, a transient, on charges of conspiracy, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious crime, Speakthunder faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Speakthunder was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-01.
Appearing on March 1 and pleading not guilty was:
Carl Mark Madden, 46, of Billings, on charges of wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Madden faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Madden was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-05.
The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, which provides electronic access to review documents filed in a case, please visit http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the District Court’s calendar, please visit https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.
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Contact
Clair Johnson Howard
Public Affairs Officer
406-247-4623
Updated March 5, 2021
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