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 Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on Jan. 4 was:
James Dusette Grandchamp, 54, of Poplar, on charges of prohibited person in possession of firearm and ammunition. If convicted of the most serious crime, Grandchamp faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Grandchamp was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Fort Peck Law Enforcement Services investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-89.
Appearing on a criminal complaint was:
Joseph John Lequin, 65, of Shelby, 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, Lequin faces a mandatory minimum five years to 40 years in prison, a $5 million fine and at least four years of supervised release. Lequin was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-89.
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Jan. 4 was:
Royale Jade Ereaux, 37, of Billings, on charges of bank fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. If convicted of the most serious crime, Ereaux 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 release on the aggravated identity theft crime. Ereaux was detained pending further proceedings. The IRS investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-100.
Appearing in Missoula before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto and pleading not guilty on Jan. 3 was:
Tara Ann Gallagher, 43, of Belgrade, on charges of false statement during a firearms transaction. If convicted of the most serious crime, Gallagher faces a maximum of 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Gallagher was released pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FBI, Broadwater County Sheriff’s Office and Missoula County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-43.
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.
