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 Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on May 6 was:

Aaron Leo Ludwig, 30, of Billings, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm and illegal receipt of a gun by a person under indictment. If convicted of the most serious crime, Ludwig faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Ludwig was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Glacier County Sheriff’s Office and Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-24.

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on May 4 was:

Ronald Dean Lords, 53, of Corvallis, on charges of wire fraud, money laundering and filing false tax returns. If convicted of the most serious crime, Lords faces a maximum 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Lords was released pending further proceedings. The FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-16.

Christopher Scott Jessop, 46, of Belgrade, on charges of felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Jessop faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Jessop was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office and Montana Probation and Parole investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-08.

Ramon Gomez Delgado, 32, of Mexico, on charges of illegal entry of a previously removed alien. If convicted of the most serious crime, Delgado faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Delgado was detained pending further proceedings. The Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office, Montana Highway Patrol and Department of Homeland Security’s Enforcement and Removal Operations. PACER case reference. 20-37.

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on May 4 was:

Ras Jahmikes Matta, 27, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Matta faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Matta was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI Transnational Organized Crime Task Force West and Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-22.

Appearing on May 6 and pleading not guilty was:

Raul Jorge Acosta, 27, of Billings, 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, Acosta faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Acosta was released pending further proceedings. The FBI Transnational Organized Crime Task Force West and the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-22.

Robert Roswald Redfield, 40, of Lodge Grass, 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 and ammunition. If convicted of the most serious crime, Redfield faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Redfield was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. PACER case reference. 20-77.

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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