News and reports from the Department of Justice.

A Lodge Grass man who admitted to breaking into a woman’s house on the Crow Indian Reservation and sexually abusing her in 2020 was sentenced today to five years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said

A Missoula woman who admitted to distributing methamphetamine was sentenced to four years in prison, to be followed by three years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

A Kansas City, Mo., man has been convicted by a trial jury of the armed robbery of a Family Dollar store with the assistance of the store’s assistant manager.

A Billings man who admitted to possessing hundreds of child pornography images was sentenced today to five years in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said. Bessman also was ordered to pay $18,000 restitution to his victims.

A Washington man convicted by a federal jury of drug trafficking crimes for bringing methamphetamine and fentanyl to the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation for distribution was sentenced today to 10 years and eight months in prison, to be followed by five years of supervised release, U.S. Attorney Jesse Laslovich said.

U.S. District Judge Peter J. Messitte today sentenced Christopher Michael Cline, a/k/a “Carisa Cline,” age 46, of Gaithersburg, Maryland, to 24 years in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, after the defendant pleaded guilty to bank robbery.

Yesterday, a federal jury convicted a Clarksville, Tennessee man (formerly of Jacksonville, Florida) of first-degree murder, attempted murder, domestic violence resulting in death, violation of a protective order resulting in death, possession of a firearm by a prohibited person, and two counts of discharging a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence.

U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced Trayvon Hall, a/k/a “Tru,” and “G Tru,” age 31, of Baltimore, yesterday to 454 months in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for racketeering and drug conspiracy charges, related to his activities as the leader of the Eight Tray Gangster (ETG) Crips gang in Baltimore.

A Worcester man was sentenced yesterday in connection with attempting to purchase a $56,000 Jeep Wrangler Rubicon with a counterfeit check.

A Lynnfield man has been indicted by a federal grand jury in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain multiple Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act loans, including funds from the Payroll Protection Program (PPP) and unemployment benefits to which he was not entitled.

The former chairman of the Massachusetts-based company Arch Therapeutics, Inc. pleaded guilty yesterday to three felony securities offenses, two of which concerned his undisclosed sale of over $1.3 million worth of company shares.

A 44-year-old resident of Dayton, Nevada, who previously resided in Burlington, Washington, pleaded guilty today in U.S. District Court in Seattle to production of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Nick Brown.

Alexander M.M. Uballez, United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico, announced today that Martin Eriacho was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Eriacho, 52, of Zuni, New Mexico, and an enrolled member of the Zuni Pueblo, pleaded guilty on Sept. 7 to assault with a dangerous weapon and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson sentenced Shawn Vincent Best, Sr., age 62, of Omak, Washington, to 46 months in federal prison for a domestic assault that occurred in August 2021.

On December 7, 2022, U.S. District Judge Thomas O. Rice sentenced Trever Daniel Harder, 35, of Spokane, to 27 years in prison for engaging in the sex trafficking of a six-year-old girl. Upon his release from prison, Harder will be on federal supervision for the remainder of his life, and he will be required to register as a sex offender.