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 defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt:

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Oct. 25 was:

Matthew Ray Tack, 40, of Florence, on charges of failure to register as a sex offender. If convicted of the most serious crime, Tack faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Tack was released pending further proceedings. The U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and Montana Sex and Violent Offender Registry conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 24-60.

Appearing on Oct. 24 was:

Francisco Javier Barrera Reyes, 32, of Bozeman and Mexico, on charges of illegal reentry. If convicted of the most serious crime, Reyes faces a maximum of two years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Reyes was detained pending further proceedings. Homeland Security Investigations and the Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 24-20.

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Oct. 24 was:

Kaitlyn Marie Smotherman, 34, of Sand Springs, on charges of tampering with a consumer product and acquiring drug by fraud. If convicted of the most serious crime, Smotherman faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Smotherman was released pending further proceedings. The Food and Drug Administration, Drug Enforcement Administration and Garfield County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 24-136.

Alyssa Kathleen Zitur, 18, of Billings, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of stolen firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Zitur faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Zitur was detained pending further proceedings. The Billings Police Department and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 24-151.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on Oct. 23 was:

Michael Shawn O’Neill, 59, of Great Falls, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, O’Neill faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. O’Neill was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Russell Country Drug Task Force and Montana Probation and Parole conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 24-76.

Appearing on Oct. 22 was:

Robert Ray Harr-Juarez, 50, of Great Falls, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Harr-Juarez faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Harr-Juarez was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 24-57.

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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