FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, March 20, 2008
INFORMATIONAL: FEDERAL COURT ARRAIGNMENT
Bill Mercer, United States Attorney for the District of Montana, announced today that during a federal court session in Great Falls, on March 20, 2008, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Keith Strong, the following individual was arraigned:
KELLY JAMES ENGLEHARDT, a resident of Havre, appeared on a charge of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute marijuana. He is currently detained. If convicted of this charge, ENGLEHARDT faces possible penalties of a mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison and could be sentenced to the maximum of 40 years, a $2,000,000 fine and 4 years supervised release. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph E. Thaggard is the prosecutor for the United States. The investigation was conducted by the Tri-Agency Drug Task Force.
The defendant pled not guilty to the charge(s).
The charge, an indictment, information or complaint, is merely an accusation and any person named as a defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. A pre-trial conference and a trial date will be set and the United States will be required to prove the allegations set forth in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt.
