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 November 8, 2017 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• BRIAN WALTER WEBER, a 41-year-old resident of Great Falls, appeared 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 charge contained in the indictment, WEBER faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  17-76

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Lynch in Missoula on November 8, 2017 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• JASON MAXWELL MEHL, a 42-year-old resident of Missoula, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute heroin, and possession with intent to distribute heroin.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, MEHL faces 40 years in prison, $5,000,000 in fines and 4 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  17-29

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Cavan in Billings on November 7, 2017 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• DONALD FRIEDLICH MILLS III, a 33-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of tampering with consumer products, and acquiring fentanyl by misrepresentation, fraud, forgery, and deception.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, MILLS faces 10 years in prison, $250,000 in fines and 3 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Drug Enforcement Administration.  PACER Case Reference.  17-120

• MIGUEL MORALES, a 25-year-old resident of San Jose, California, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, MORALES 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.  17-108

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Johnston in Great Falls on November 7, 2017 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• CODY SWAN JACKSON, a 39-year-old resident of Browning, appeared on charges of involuntary manslaughter and attempted witness tampering.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, JACKSON faces 20 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.  17-73

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Cavan in Billings on November 6, 2017 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• BRIAN ALBERT BENTZ, a 36-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, BENTZ faces life in prison, $10,000,000 in fines and 5 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  17-116

• CHARLES JESSE SANCHEZ, JR., a 52-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, SANCHEZ 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.  17-121

Appearing before U.S. Magistrate Cavan in Billings on November 3, 2017 and entering pleas of Not Guilty were:

• MICHAEL CHAVEZ, JR., a 64-year-old resident of Billings, appeared on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, and distribution of methamphetamine.  If convicted of the most serious charge contained in the indictment, CHAVEZ faces 40 years in prison, $5,000,000 in fines and 4 years supervised release.  The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  PACER Case Reference.  17-122

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.