US Attorney’s Office for ND releases 2023 Community Report
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The United State's Attorney's Office for the District of North Dakota (USAO-ND) has released the 2023 Community Report, summarizing U.S. Attorney Mac Schneider and his team's efforts to impact communities throughout the state.
"Whether it is protecting children, combating dangerous drugs, or enforcing federal laws that ensure fair treatment of North Dakotans, the attorneys and staff of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of North Dakota are committed to upholding the rule of law, keeping our country safe, and protecting civil rights," Schneider said. "I could not be prouder of their efforts. As new challenges arise in the months ahead, we will continue to improve upon our work to better serve our law enforcement partners and communities."
The North Dakota district has offices located in Bismarck and Fargo, and employs 27 assistant U.S. attorneys and more than 30 more support staff.
According to the report, the district secured a conviction rate of 93% in 2023, with 96% of criminal appeals decided in favor of the United States in the last year.
The report highlighted cases involving law enforcement's ongoing efforts to curtail the distribution of drugs like fentanyl in North Dakota communities, which involves close partnership between the district's U.S. attorney with state, local and tribal agencies. Two cases of note with connection to the Minot area resulted in convictions in 2023 dealt specifically with conspiracies to traffic fentanyl and other dangerous drugs.
The defendants in the cases targeted communities like Bismarck, Minot, Fort Berthold Reservation, and Spirit Lake Reservation for the distribution of drugs. The defendants of U.S. v. Linscomb et al. who had connections to the Detroit, Michigan, area received sentences totaling more than 440 months for their roles in distributing the substances in the state. A second conviction led to Devonsha Dabney and co-conspirator Jonathan Walker being sentenced to 180 months of incarceration in October 2023 for operating a continuing criminal enterprise as a part of a drug trafficking organization affiliated with the 5674 Reub Gang from Michigan. Dabney and Walker were involved in the transportation of thousands of oxycodone and fentanyl pills to North Dakota.
The U.S. Attorney's Office also administers justice on reservations in the state. The report noted the addition of regular multi-disciplinary team meetings between various agencies and service providers to successfully implement the provisions of Savanna's Act to prevent and rapidly respond to missing person cases in Indian Country.
Convictions from 2023 included Cody Belgarde, who was found guilty of second-degree murder and arson after an eight day trial for shooting a teenager and setting fire to the murder scene on the Spirit Lake Reservation. Another jury found Ash Featherman guilty of sexual abuse of an incapacitated victim and abusive sexual contact on the Fort Berthold Reservation in September 2023, and while another on the Spirit Lake Reservation found Nathaniel Patrick Azure guilty for a 2021 non-fatal shooting and for a separate incident from 2022.
Schneider highlighted his office's work in protecting children in the state from online predators and in the community, and in prosecuting taxpayers and consumers from fraud and human smuggling on the northern border.
"2023 was a challenging year. As new challenges arise in the months ahead, we will continue to improve upon our work to better serve our law enforcement partners and our communities and ensure justice is fairly administered in the District of North Dakota." Schneider said.