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 Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Nov. 3 was:

Jamesey Maria Jefferson, 32, of Busby, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute meth and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. If convicted of the most serious crime, Jefferson faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release on the drug counts and a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on the firearm count. Jefferson was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI and Bureau of Indian Affairs investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-89.

Appearing on Nov. 2 was:

Jordan Joseph Backer, 26, of Lame Deer, on charges of aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact. If convicted of the most serious crime, Backer faces a mandatory minimum 30 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and at least five years to life of supervised release. Backer was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-115.

Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Nov. 3 was:

Chance Allen Chambers, 24, of Butte, on charges of prohibited person on possession of a firearm and possession of a firearm by an unlawful user of a controlled substance. If convicted of the most serious crime, Chambers faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Chambers was released pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Butte Police Department and Montana Probation and Parole investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-33.

James Allyn Batterton, 24, of Missoula, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth, possession with intent to distribute meth and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Batterton 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 conspiracy charge 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 the firearm charge. Batterton was released pending further proceedings. The Missoula High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-51.

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.