Informational: Federal Court arraignments

The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared recently 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 11 was:

Kaitlyn Beth Cochran, 33, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. If convicted of the most serious crime, Cochran faces a mandatory minimum of five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Cochran was detained pending further proceedings. Homeland Security Investigations, the Eastern Montana High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, Billings Police Department and Bozeman Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-68.

Shanley Leonard Bighorn, 39, a transient, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Bighorn faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Bighorn was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Billings Police Department conducted the investigation. PACER case reference. 24-49.

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on July 1 was:

Owen David James, 50, of Dillon, on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and fentanyl, 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, James faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the drug charges and a mandatory minimum of five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other crime, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearm charge. James was released pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations, Drug Enforcement Administration, Montana Division of Criminal Investigation, Montana Highway Patrol. Beaverhead County Sheriff’s Office, Butte Silver Bow Law Enforcement and Idaho State Police investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-19.

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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