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 September 28, 2015 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• BRIDGETTE MARIE BLACKCROW, a 26-year-old resident of Lodge Pole, appeared on charges of felony child abuse.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, BLACKCROW faces 5 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.  15-47

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on September 23, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• NATHAN MOUNTAIN CHIEF, a 32-year-old resident of Browning, appeared on charges of burglary.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, MOUNTAIN CHIEF faces 20 years in prison, $50,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  PACER Case Reference.  15-60

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

• JOSE ISIDRO OROZCO-HERRERA, a 29-year-old resident of Jerome, Idaho, appeared on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and illegal alien in possession of firearm and ammunition.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, OROZCO-HERRERA faces life in prison, $1,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.  PACER Case Reference.  15-87

• ARTIE LEWIS SMELLS, a 50-year-old resident of Pryor, appeared on charges of felon in possession of firearms and ammunition.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, SMELLS 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.  15-117

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on September 21, 2015, and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• ROBERT ALLEN ROMO, a 41-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of felon in possession of a firearm.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, ROMO 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.  15-115

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.