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 July 20 was:
Mark Eugene Benton, 60, of Billings, on charges of prohibited person in possession of a firearm and ammunition. If convicted of the most serious crime, Benton faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Benton was detained pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-32.
Appearing in Great Falls before U.S. Magistrate Judge John T. Johnston and pleading not guilty on July 21 was:
Brocktin Russo, 31, of Great Falls, on charges of possession with intent to distribute heroin. If convicted of the most serious crime, Russo faces a mandatory minimum 10 years to life in prison, a $10 million fine and five years of supervised release. Russo was detained pending further proceedings. The Russell Country Drug Task Force and Great Falls Police Department investigated the case. PACER case reference. 21-41.
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.
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Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
