Informational: Federal Court arraignments

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 all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law:

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on May 18 was:

Gregg Lawrence Haywood Sr., 54, of Billings, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Haywood faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Haywood was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-32.

Appearing on May 20 and pleading not guilty was:

Elizabeth Marie Stephenson, 35, of Billings, on charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious fraud crime, Stephenson faces a maximum 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and five years of supervised release. If convicted of aggravated identity theft, Stephenson faces a mandatory minimum two years in prison consecutive to any other punishment. Stephenson was released pending further proceedings. The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-28.

William Orville Deshaw III, 36, of Whitehall, on charges of false statement during a firearms transaction. If convicted of the most serious crime, Deshaw faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Deshaw was released pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 20-35.

Appearing in Great Falls before Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris and pleading not guilty on May 20 was:

Tasha Leigh Morsette, 33, of Havre, on charges of conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, and distribution of fentanyl. If convicted of the most serious crime, Morsette faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release. Morsette was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-35.

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.

XXX