Information: Federal Court Arraignments

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 Ostby in Billings on August 28, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• DONALD JOHN CHERRY, a 58-year-old resident of Miles City, appeared on charges of felon in possession of a firearm.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, CHERRY faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration.  PACER Case Reference.  15-96

• ASHLEY LORAINE COTY, a 28-year-old resident of Miles City, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, COTY faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the HIDTA Task Force.  PACER Case Reference.  15-97

• RICHARD LEE GILBERT, a 30-year-old resident of Miles City, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, GILBERT faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the HIDTA Task Force.  PACER Case Reference.  15-97

• DENISE KELLY MALLAK, a 47-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, MALLAK faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-100

• BURHAN A. MALLAK, a 63-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, MALLAK faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-100

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula on August 27, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• JUAN DOMINGO CONDE ROCHA, a 34-year-old resident of Missoula, appeared on charges of illegal reentry of a deported alien.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, CONDE ROCHA faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security.  PACER Case Reference.  15-20

• RYAN SCOT FRANFORTER, a 38-year-old resident of Helena, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, FRANKFORTER faces 20 years in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Missouri River Drug Task Force.  PACER Case Reference.  15-11

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on August 26, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• JONI LYNN ADAMS, a 28-year-old resident of Crow Agency, appeared on charges of assault on a federal officer.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, ADAMS faces 20 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-74

• KRISTINA FERN CLEOELA SEELY, a 36-year-old resident of Hardin, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, SEELY faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  PACER Case Reference.  15-103

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on August 26, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• DAVID QUINN GRAINGER, a 39-year-old resident of Poplar, 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, GRAINGER faces 40 years in prison, $5,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice.  PACER Case Reference.  15-48

• LIONEL LEE WEEKS, a 50-year-old resident of Wolf Point, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and use of a communication facility in causing and facilitating the commission of felonies under the controlled substances act.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, WEEKS faces life in prison, $250,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office.  PACER Case Reference.  15-50

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

• JAMES ANTONIO AMATO, a 50-year-old resident of Great Falls, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, AMATO 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.  15-46

• SCOTT MITCHELL BUMMER, a 51-year-old resident of Helena, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, BUMMER 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.  15-46

• SHAD JAMES HUSTON, a 40-year-old resident of Havre, appeared on charges of false claims act conspiracy and false and fraudulent claims against a federally funded project.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, HUSTON faces 10 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, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-42

• BILLI ANNE RAINING BIRD MORSETTE, a 39-year-old resident of Box Elder, appeared on charges of conspiracy to embezzle tribal funds and embezzlement from an Indian tribal organization.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, MORSETTE faces 5 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, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-40

• NEAL PAUL ROSETTE, a 53-year-old resident of Box Elder, appeared on charges of conspiracy to embezzle tribal funds and embezzlement from an Indian tribal organization.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, ROSETTE faces 5 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, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General, Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-40

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