Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives

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

Leslie Patricia Rivera, 51, and Miguel Angel Medina, 61, both of the Seattle, Washington, area, on charges of conspiracy to transport and transportation of illegal aliens. If convicted of the most serious crime, the defendants face a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Both defendants were released pending further proceedings. The U.S. Border Patrol investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-13.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on March 1 was:

Winchester Glen Wiseman, 41, of Helena, on charges of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, distribution of methamphetamine, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and felon in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Wiseman faces a minimum mandatory 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the possession with intent to distribute crime and a mandatory minimum five years in prison consecutive any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the possession of firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking crime. Wiseman was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Great Falls Police Department, Cascade County Sheriff’s Office and Missoula Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-13.

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on March 4 was:

Jesse Michael Montagna, also known as Jeffery M. Rothenberg, 55, of Billings, on charges of wire fraud, bank fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious crime, Montagna faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years in prison 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 release on the identity theft crime. Montagna was detained pending further proceedings. The Homeland Security Investigations and Billings Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-19.

Appearing on March 1 was:

Ross James Thomas, 35, of Big Timber, on charges of unlawful possession of a machine gun and possession of an unregistered firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Thomas faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Thomas was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-89.

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.

XXX