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 Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on March 6 was:

Billy Dean Smith, 55, of Big Arm, on charges of sexual exploitation of a child, distribution of child pornography and possession of child pornography. If convicted of the most serious crime, Smith faces a minimum 15 years to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release. Smith was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-16.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on March 2 was:

Douglas Floyd Main, 33, of Harlem, on charges of strangulation and domestic abuse by habitual offender. If convicted of the most serious crime, Main faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Main was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Fort Belknap Law Enforcement investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-14.

Appearing on March 5 was:

Billie Jo Myo, 40, of Great Falls, 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, Myo faces a minimum mandatory five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and three years of supervised release. Myo was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Great Falls Police Department investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-08.

Robert Matthew Paul Mitchell, Sr., 44, of Box Elder, on charges of failure to register. If convicted of the most serious crime, Mitchell faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Mitchell was detained pending further proceedings. The U.S. Marshals Service investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-07.

Clayton Gary Bailey, 48, and Brigitte Ann Bailey, 43, both of Big Sandy, 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, the Baileys face a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Both defendants were detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Tri-Agency Task Force and Chippewa Cree Law Enforcement Services investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-04.

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on March 5 was:

Charles Allen Wallette, 58, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth, possession with intent to distribute meth and prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Wallette faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and five years of supervised release. Wallette was released pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. Pacer case reference. 20-12.

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.