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 Aug. 8 was:

Leevi Dannyle Dobson, 34, of Billings, and Joseph Marion Medina, III, 33, of Billings, 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, Dobson and Medina face a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Dobson was released pending further proceedings, while Medina was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Homeland Security Investigations and Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-98.

Appearing on Aug. 6 was:

Camille Lynn Ackaret, 42, of Billings, 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, Ackaret faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Ackaret was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Billings Police Department and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-88.

Appearing on Aug. 1 was:

 Lynda Diane Good, 59, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, distribution of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Good 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 sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearm charge. Good was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Billings Police Department and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-88.

 Appearing on July 30 was:

Elias Adame, 38, of Billings, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm and receipt of a firearm while under indictment. If convicted of the most serious crime, Adame faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Adame was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-81.

Appearing on July 29 was:

Curtis William Witmer, 48, of Billings, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Witmer faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Witmer was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-105.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on Aug. 6 was:

Joel Hadley III, 22, of Florida, on charges of possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, distribution of fentanyl and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Hadley faces a mandatory minimum of five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and four years of supervised release on the drug possession 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. Hadley was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Tri-Agency Drug Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-26.

Scott Hamilton, 44, of Helena, on charges of felon in possession of firearms. If convicted of the most serious crime, Hamilton faces a maximum of 15 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Hamilton was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Lewis and Clark County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-14.

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Aug. 9 was:

Blaise Scott Nuthak, 30, of Butte, on charges of distribution of fentanyl and possession with intent to distribute fentanyl. If convicted of the most serious crime, Nuthak faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release. Nuthak was detained pending further proceedings. The Montana Division of Criminal Investigation and Drug Enforcement Administration investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-15.

Appearing on July 30 was:

Alecia Mae Leonetti, 49, of Kalispell, and Krista Lynn Hall, 49, of Kalispell, on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious crime, Leonetti and Hall face a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the wire fraud charges and a mandatory two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised release, on the identity theft charge. Leonetti and Hall were released pending further proceedings. The Flathead County Sheriff’s Office and FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-36.

Guy S. Cook, 59, of Dripping Springs, Texas, on charges of tax evasion. If convicted of the most serious crime, Cook faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $100,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Cook was released pending further proceedings. The IRS Criminal Investigation investigated the case. PACER case reference. 24-22.

Anthony Reimer Mares, 32, of Texas, on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. If convicted of the most serious crime, Mares faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine and five years of supervised release. Mares was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI; U.S. Secret Service; Missoula, Bozeman, Helena, Livingston and Laurel police departments; Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office; Chubbock, Pocatello and Kemmerer, Idaho, police departments; Bannock County Sheriff’s Office, Idaho; Idaho State Police; Teton County Sheriff’s Office, Wyoming; and Evanston and Mountain View, Wyoming, police departments, investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-13.

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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