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 Lynch in Missoula on February 12, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• SALVADOR ANDAYA CURIEL, a 28-year-old resident of California, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, CURIEL faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security Investigations.  PACER Case Reference.  15-01

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula on February 11, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• RICHARD CHARLES SAARI, a 32-year-old resident of East Helena, appeared on charges of sexual exploitation of children, and receipt of child pornography.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, SAARI faces 30 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and lifetime supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Helena Police Department, Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office, East Helena Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  16-01

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on February 10, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• JEROME DALE FOLLET, SR., a 26-year-old resident of Poplar, appeared on charges of felony child abuse.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, FOLLET faces 10 years in prison, $50,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice.  PACER Case Reference.  16-12

• RAMON TROY WHITE BEAR, a 22-year-old resident of Poplar, appeared on charges of assault resulting in serious bodily injury.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, WHITE BEAR faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Fort Peck Tribes Department of Law and Justice.  PACER Case Reference.  16-08

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on February 9, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• PAUL OLDCHIEF, a 36-year-old resident of Browning, appeared on charges of assault resulting in serious bodily injury and assault with a dangerous weapon.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, OLDCHIEF 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.  16-11

• DEREK JAMES RIGHT HAND, an 18-year-old resident of Browning, appeared on charges of aggravated sexual abuse.  If convicted of the charge contained in the indictment, RIGHT HAND faces life in prison, $250,000 in fines and lifetime supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  16-13

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on February 9, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• GENE ANDREW TUFTON, a 44-year-old resident of Dagmar, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and conspiracy to commit money laundering.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, TUFTON faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the HIDTA .  PACER Case Reference.  16-05

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Ostby in Billings on February 5, 2016 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• EDWARD LEE DONNES, a 53-year-old resident of Belgrade, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charges contained in the indictment, DONNES faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the FBI Task Force.  PACER Case Reference.  16-12

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 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.