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Press Release

Information: Federal Court Arraignments

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Montana

The United States Attorney’s Office announced that those persons listed below were arraigned before the U.S. Magistrate and the indictments handed down by the Grand Jury unsealed.

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on June 25, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • JOHNNY LEE HAMILTON, a 22-year-old resident of Poplar, appeared on charges of burglary.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, HAMILTON faces 20 years in prison, $50,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice.  PACER Case Reference.  14-84

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula on June 24, 2015 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • SPENCER JAMES BRUSELL, a 38-year-old resident of Kalispell, appeared on charges of counterfeiting obligations or securities of the United States and uttering counterfeit obligations or securities.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, BRUSELL faces 20 years in prison, $250,000,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service.  PACER Case Reference.  15-04
  • ERNEST KHALID CALVERT, JR., a 20-year-old resident of Dania Beach, Florida, appeared on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, CALVERT faces 20 years in prison, $250,000,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-22
  • ROBERT ELLIS NORRIS, a 23-year-old resident of Boynton Beach, Florida, appeared on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, and aggravated identity theft.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, NORRIS faces 20 years in prison, $250,000,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-22

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on June 23, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • LEON SEMINOLE, a 57-year-old resident of Lame Deer, appeared on charges of strangulation and assault resulting in substantial bodily injury.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, SEMINOLE faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  PACER Case Reference.  15-62

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on June 23, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • SHAD JAMES HUSTON, a 39-year-old resident of Havre, appeared on charges of false claims act conspiracy, scheme to defraud the Chippewa Cree Tribe/wire, bribery – offering an official of an Indian tribal government receiving federal funding payments for personal benefit and false and fraudulent claims against a federal funded project. If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, HUSTON faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the U.S. Department of Interior Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Environmental Protection Agency and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-35

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on June 18, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • JETSEE ALBERTO NUNEZ-GUZMAN, a 34-year-old resident of Mexico, appeared on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, NUNEZ-GUZMAN faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.  PACER Case Reference.  15-68
  • CAROL LYNETTE PEARSON, a 43-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, PEARSON faces life in prison, $8,000,000 in fines and 8 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-46

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula on June 17, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

  • JOSEPH DAVID ROBERTSON, a 76-year-old resident of Basin, appeared on charges of unauthorized discharge of pollutants into waters of the United States and malicious mischief – injury/depredation of property of the United States.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, ROBERTSON faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Forest Service.  PACER Case Reference.  15-07
  • SEIBERT SMITH/DRUMLUMMON GOLD CORPORATION, a 76-year-old resident of Helena, appeared on charges of false statement sin records and false statements within jurisdiction of United States.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, SMITH faces 5 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the US Department of Labor Mine Safety and Health Administration.  PACER Case Reference.  15-06

If any of the above cases are of interest to your media organization and the community it serves, we encourage you to monitor the progress of the case regularly through the U.S. District Court calendar and the PACER system so that you stay current and not miss any important developments in the case.

To establish a PACER account, which will allow you to review documents filed in the case, please go to, http://www.pacer.gov/register.html. To access the district court’s calendar, please go to https://ecf.mtd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/PublicCalendar.pl.

Updated June 26, 2015

Press Release Number: LAURA WEISS, Public Information Officer, (406) 457-5274