The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following persons were arraigned or appeared during the week of March 28 through April 1 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 March 31 was:
Jayson Gayo, 27, of Harlowton, on charges of possession of child pornography. If convicted of the most serious crime, Gayo faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release. Gayo was released pending further proceedings. Homeland Security Investigations and the Montana Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-24.
Bruce Eugene Bittick, 44, a transient, on charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious crime, Bittick faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on bank fraud and a mandatory minimum two years in prison consecutive to any other crime on aggravated identity theft. Bittick was detained pending further proceedings. The Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-14.
Appearing on March 28 was:
Dominique Kendall Brown, 28, of Billings, on charges of 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, Brown faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Brown was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Montana Highway Patrol, Fort Peck Police and Roosevelt County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-19.
Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on March 30 was:
Krista Jean Vela, 38, of Bend, Oregon, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Vela faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Vela was detained pending further proceedings. Homeland Security Investigations, the Montana Highway Patrol and the Northwest Drug Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-53.
Charles Warren Campbell, 51, of Butte, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, prohibited person in possession of a firearm, possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number and possession of an unregistered firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Campbell faces a mandatory minimum 10 years in prison consecutive to any other crime, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the crime of firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Campbell was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration, Montana Probation and Parole, and Butte Silver-Bow Law Enforcement Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-09.
Ira Kyrk Westbrook, 46, of Billings, on charges of health care fraud, Social Security fraud and theft of government property. If convicted of the most serious crime, Westbrook faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Westbrook was detained pending further proceedings. The Social Security Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Montana Adult Protective Services and Bozeman Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-14.
James Ryan Elverud, 33, of Butte, on charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted of the most serious crime, Elverud faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Elverud was detained pending further proceedings. Homeland Security Investigations, the Lake County Sheriff’s Office, Flathead Tribal Police, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Tribal law enforcement and Montana Highway Patrol investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-04.
Appearing on March 29 was:
Donaldo Perez Garcia, 28, of Mexico, on charges of illegal reentry. If convicted of the most serious crime, Garcia faces a maximum of two years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Garcia was detained pending further proceedings. Department of Homeland Security’s Enforcement and Removal Operations, Belgrade Police Department, Montana Highway Patrol and Gallatin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-41.
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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