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 Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on May 26 was:
Alex Valladares, 27, address unknown, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute meth, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, felon in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Valladares faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the drug charge and a mandatory minimum five years to life, consecutive to any other term, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the crime of possessing a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Valladares was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-55.
Gregory Duane Hanson, 31, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth, possession with intent to distribute meth and distribution of meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Hanson faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Hanson was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-59.
Darwin Dalton Sutherland, 28, a transient, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of a stolen firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Sutherland faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Sutherland was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-63.
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.
