DOJ Seal

Department of Justice

U.S. Attorney's Office
District of Montana

For Immediate Release

Friday, February 10, 2023
Jesse Laslovich
, United States Attorney

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 Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Feb. 9 was:

Matthew Ryan Cubberly, 36, of Kalispell, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and possession of an unregistered firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Cubberly faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Cubberly was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Kalispell Police Department and Montana Probation and Parole investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-3.

Appearing on Feb. 6 was:

Zachary Vernon Stephens, 34, of Bozeman, on charges of travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct. If convicted of the most serious crime, Stephens faces a maximum of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to a lifetime of supervised release. Stephens was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-20.

Jessica Elizabeth Garrett, 42, of Billings, on charges of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious crime, Garrett faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the wire fraud charge 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 aggravated identity theft charge. Garrett was detained pending further proceedings. The Billings Police Department and Missoula Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-03.

Appearing for an initial appearance on a criminal complaint was:

Lindsay Ann Rumph, 33, of Missoula, on charges of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Rumph faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the drug charge and a mandatory minimum five years to life, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the firearm charge. Rumph was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-11.

Eric Anthony Navarro, 32, of Missoula, on charges of conspiracy to distribute meth and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. If convicted of the most serious crime, Navarro faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release on the drug charge and a mandatory minimum five years to life, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release on the firearm charge. Navarro was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-12.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on Feb. 8 was:

Joseph Ernest Potts, 32, of Browning, on charges of assault on a federal officer. If convicted of the most serious crime, Potts faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Potts was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Bureau of Indian Affairs and Blackfeet Law Enforcement Services investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-104.

Appearing on Feb. 6 was:

James Lee Brown, 60, on charges of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. If convicted of the most serious crime, Brown faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $1 million fine and three years of supervised release. Brown was detained pending further proceedings. The Great Falls Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-09.

Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Feb. 8 was:

James Joseph Sangrey, 39, of Great Falls, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute meth and possession with intent to distribute meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Sangrey faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Sangrey was detained pending further proceedings. The Great Falls Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-13.

Ralph Edward Page, 52, of Boulder, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Page faces a maximum of 15 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Page was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Montana Probation and Parole and Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-06.

Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J, Cavan and pleading not guilty on Feb. 7 was:

Dane Ralph Jams Curry, 39, of Baker, on charges of conspiracy to produce child pornography, sex trafficking of a minor and destruction of records in a federal investigation. If convicted of the most serious crime, Curry faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $250,000 fine and five years to life of supervised release. Curry was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 23-05.

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.

Denver Field Division