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:

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Jan. 21 was:

Darren Samuel Whiteman, 36, of Billings, on charges of robbery affecting commerce and possession of a firearm in relation to a crime of violence. If convicted of the most serious crime, Whiteman faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release, and a minimum mandatory 10 years to life consecutive to any other crime if convicted of discharge of the firearm. Whiteman was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Billings Police Department investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-10.

Rodney George Plentyhawk, Jr., 42, of Lame Deer, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition. If convicted of the most serious crime, Plentyhawk faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Plentyhawk was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 19-148.

Appearing on Jan. 24 was:

Nicholas Dale Jennings, 35, of Minot, N.D., on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Jennings faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Jennings was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 19-156.

Robert Hal Hanson, 59, of Lavina, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Hanson faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Hanson was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI West task force investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 19-132.

Frank Agedious Gun Shows, 41, a transient, on charges of failure to register as a sex offender. If convicted of the most serious crime, Gun Shows faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 19-130.

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Jan. 22 was:

Santiago Marron, 37, of San Bernardino, CA, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Marron faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and five years of supervised release. Marron was detained pending further proceedings. The Northwest Drug Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-2.

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.

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.

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