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 Sept. 13 was:
Robert John Terry, 37, of Great Falls, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession with intent to distribute meth and distribution of meth. If convicted of the most serious crime, Terry faces a mandatory minimum of 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and at least five years of supervised release. Terry was detained pending further proceedings. The FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, Great Falls Police Department and Cascade County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-71.
Joseph Drayton Cook, 32, of Great Falls, on charges of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, possession of firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense and prohibited person in possession of a firearm. If convicted of the most serious crime, Cook 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 of five years to life in prison, consecutive to any other sentence, a $250,000 fine and five years of supervised release on possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. The FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration and Great Falls Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-66.
Appearing in Billings before U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy J. Cavan and pleading not guilty on Sept. 15 was:
Jordan Cody Washee, 30, of Ashland, on charges of aggravated sexual abuse and abusive sexual contact. If convicted of the most serious crime, Washee faces a maximum of life in prison, a $250,000 fine and a mandatory minimum five years to life of supervised release. Washee was released pending further proceedings. The FBI investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-94.
Jonathan Cleve Brien, 42, of Billings, on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. If convicted of the most serious crime, Brien faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Brien was released pending further proceedings. The Department of Interior Office of Inspector General investigated the case. PACER case reference. 22-85.
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.
