The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that the following person was arraigned today on an indictment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kathleen L. DeSoto in Missoula. The indictment is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law:
Michael Blake Defrance, 28, of Missoula, pleaded not guilty to an indictment charging him with prohibited person in possession of firearms and ammunition. The indictment alleges that on about June 27, 2018 and Oct. 2, 2018 in Missoula, Defrance, knowing he had been convicted on May 6, 2013 of a misdemeanor crime of violence under the laws of the State of Montana, possessed firearms and ammunition in violation of federal law. If convicted of the most serious crime, Defrance faces a maximum 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release. Defrance was released pending further proceedings. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, FBI’s Montana Regional Violent Crime Task Force and the Missoula Police Department investigated the case.
PACER case reference. 21-29.
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
