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 Johnston in Great Falls on July 23, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• JESSE WADE NEWSOM, a 28-year-old resident of Cascade, appeared on charges of felon in possession of a firearm.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, NEWSOM faces 10 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.  15-41

• JIMMIE RICHARD JAMES, a 72-year-old resident of Ballantine, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and to possess methamphetamine with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, JAMES faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.  PACER Case Reference.  15-82

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on July 22, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• JASON HOMER JENKINS, a 38-year-old resident of Belgrade, appeared on charges of felon in possession of a firearm.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, JENKINS 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.  PACER Case Reference.  15-31

• JEFFREY MICHAEL LEO, a 43-year-old resident of Havre, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute and distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, LEO faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  15-66

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula on July 21, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• JOSEPH ALLEN EHLI, a 36-year-old resident of Missoula, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and distribution of methamphetamine.    If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, EHLI 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.  15-13

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.