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:
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on June 28 was:
Jesse Littlebuck Dickinson, 40, a transient, on charges of bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious crime, Dickinson faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the bank fraud crime and a mandatory minimum two years in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and one year of supervised released on the aggravated identity theft crime. Dickinson was detained pending further proceedings. The Billings Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-67.
Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on June 28 was:
Jassie Laydell Westerman, 39, of Great Falls, on charges of possession of firearm by unlawful user of controlled substances and receipt of a firearm by a person under indictment. If convicted of the most serious crime, Westerman faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Westerman was detained pending further proceedings. Homeland Security Investigations, the Great Falls Police Department, the Cascade County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-28.
Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on June 30 was:
Mark Ernest Spani, 64, of Butte, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, distribution of controlled substances, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, prohibited person in possession of a firearm and conspiracy to commit money laundering. If convicted of the most serious crime, Spani faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the conspiracy crime and a mandatory minimum five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking. Spani was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-24.
Bernard Roy McKinney, 43, of Butte, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances and distribution of controlled substances. If convicted of the most serious crime, McKinney faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. McKinney was detained pending further proceedings. The Drug Enforcement Administration and Montana Division of Criminal Investigation investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-24.
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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