Informational: Federal Court Arraignments
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 Sept. 7 was:
Bruce William Ferguson, 65, of Fort Peck, on charges of mail fraud. If convicted of the most serious crime, Ferguson faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Ferguson was released pending further proceeding. The Bureau of Land Management investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-78.
Appearing on Sept. 6 was:
Tyrel Edward Olson, 29, of Miles City, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Olson faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Olson was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-73.
Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto on Sept.6 for an initial appearance on a criminal complaint was:
Evirso Ampude, 47, of Box Elder, on charges of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance. If convicted of the most serious crime, Ampude faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Ampude was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-70.
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