Informational: Federal Court Arraignments in the District of Montana
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 beyond a reasonable doubt:
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on July 27 was:
Leota Lynn Beartusk-Martinez, 38, a transient, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. If convicted of the most serious crime, Beartusk-Martinez faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Beartusk-Martinez was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. PACER case reference 22-130.
Derry Jerel Howard, 42, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Howard faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release on the drug charges and a mandatory minimum of five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearm charge. Howard was detained pending further proceedings. The Billings Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol and Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference 23-86.
Shaynee Renee Gibbs, 45, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute meth and fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Gibbs faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a $10 million fine and five years of supervised release on the drug charge and a mandatory minimum of five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearm charge. Gibbs was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration, Billings Police Department, U.S. Border Patrol, Laurel Police Department, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office and Montana Highway Patrol conducted the investigation. PACER case reference 23-39.
Dawn Marie Guevara, aka Dawn Marie Owen, 42, 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, Guevara faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years in prison, a $10 million fine and five years of supervised release. Guevara was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation. PACER case reference 19-01.
Appearing on July 25 was:
Sean Wesley Colwell, 43, of Billings, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition. If convicted of the most serious crime, Colwell faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Colwell was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office, U.S. Marshals Service and Montana Probation and Parole investigated the case. PACER case reference 23-76.
Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on July 28 was:
Raymond Perez Ramos, 30, of Long Beach, California, 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, Ramos faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Ramos was released pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Postal Service and Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference 21-13.
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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