Informational: Federal Court arraignments

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared recently 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 Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Jan. 10 was:

Eric Charles Swan, 43, of Billings, and Elizabeth Ardelle Grace Ronshaugen, 29, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. If convicted of the most serious crime, Swan and Ronshaugen face a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Swan and Ronshaugen were detained pending further proceedings. The Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-117.

Appearing on Jan. 11 was:

Lindsay Marie Blunt, 30, of Billings, on charges of possession with intent to distribute cocaine. If convicted of the most serious crime, Blunt faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Blunt was released pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-84.

Miles Edward Bessman, 49, of Billings, on charges of possession of child pornography. If convicted of the most serious crime, Bessman faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release. Bessman was released pending further proceedings. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-83.

Bobby Joe Garcia, 27, a transient, on charges of counterfeit, uttering or passing counterfeit currency. If convicted of the most serious crime, Garcia faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Garcia was detained pending further proceedings. The U.S. Secret Service investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-101.

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Jan. 12 was:

Jeramiah Kayson Gohde, 24, of Belgrade, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm, possession of unregistered firearm, and possession of firearm with obliterated serial number. If convicted of the most serious crime, Gohde faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Gohde was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Bozeman Police Department and Montana Probation and Parole investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-01.

Appearing on Jan. 13 was:

Larry Craig Layne, 58, formerly of Bozeman, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Layne faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Layne was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Bozeman Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-09.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on Jan. 11 was:

Monte Clyde Fox, 69, of Kevin, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm and unlawful drug user in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Fox faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Fox was released pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-03.

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