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 beyond a reasonable doubt:

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on April 28 was:

Brittany Nicole Lewis, 32, of Corvallis, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute meth and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Lewis faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the drug offense and a mandatory five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the firearms crime. Lewis was released pending further proceedings. The Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force and Ravalli County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-20.

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on April 25 was:

James Faddis Kennedy, 73, of Red Lodge, on charges of possession of unregistered firearm and illegal possession of a machine gun. If convicted of the most serious crime, Kennedy faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Kennedy was released pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-25.

Appearing on April 26 was:

Nathaniel James Jansen, 35, of Billings, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition and possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number. If convicted of the most serious crime, Jansen faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Jansen was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-47.

Elmer Brady, 67, a transient, on charges of bank robbery. If convicted of the most serious crime, Brady faces a maximum of 25 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release. Brady was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-42

Appearing on April 27 was:

Scott Francis Richardson, 44, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. If convicted of the most serious crime, Richardson faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and at least three years of supervised release. Richardson was detained pending further proceedings. The Billings Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Highway Patrol and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-40.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on April 21 was:

Martaveon Makei Scott, aka Lo, 25, of Williston, North Dakota, 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, Scott faces a mandatory minimum of five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Scott was detained pending further proceedings. The Havre Police Department and Tri-Agency Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-86.

Dustin Alan Robbins, 37, a transient, on charges of robbery, assault with intent to commit a felony and intimidation. If convicted of the most serious crime, Robbins faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Robbins was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Fort Belknap Law Enforcement investigated the case.

PACER case reference. 23-25.

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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