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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 Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on March 7 was:

Antonio Ledesma Rodriguez, aka Uncle, 52, and Jose Delrefugio Rodriguez, 27, both of Yakima, Washington, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and distribution of fentanyl. If convicted of the most serious crime, the defendants face a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release. Both defendants were detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Tri-Agency Task Force and Rocky Boy’s Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-106.

Stephen Jeffrey Vogel, 35, of Great Falls, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Vogel faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Vogel was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Great Falls Police Department and Cascade County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-26.

Titus Lee Pedraza, 40, of Box Elder, on charges of strangulation, assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault resulting in substantial bodily injury. If convicted of the most serious crime, Pedraza faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Pedraza was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Rocky Boy’s Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-24.

Thomas Knife, aka Smurf, 40, of Box Elder, and Antonio Penalosa Infante, 36, of Spokane, Washington, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. Knife also faces a charge of prohibited person in possession of a firearm, while Infante also faces a charge of distribution of controlled substances. If convicted of the most serious crime, the defendants face a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the drug charge and a mandatory minimum five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other charge, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the charge of possessing a firearm in a drug trafficking crime. Both defendants were detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Rocky Boy’s Police Department and Montana Highway Patrol investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-21.

Heriberto Rodriguez Acosta, 30, of Yakima, Washington, 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, Acosta faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Acosta was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Tri-Agency Task Force, Rocky Boy’s Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol and Kootenai County, Idaho, Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-97.

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on March 9 was:

Jeff David Burke, 37, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and attempted possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. If convicted of the most serious crime, Burke faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Burke was released pending further proceedings. The Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and U.S. Postal Service investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-15.

Michael Shane Oset, 47, of Livingston, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute meth and distribution of meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Oset faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Oset was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Park County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-18.

The progress of cases may be monitored through the U.S. District Court Calendar and the PACER system. To establish a PACER account, wh ich 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 10, 2023

Press Release Number: 23-77