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Huston's lawyer to stay on, new trial date to be set

In the U.S. vs. Shad Huston case, the prosecution’s motion to remove Michael Sherwood as Huston’s attorney was denied.

In the Missouri River Federal Courthouse in Great Falls, Huston’s case has been held up by a series of legal moves.

Huston withdrew his guilty plea on the day he was scheduled to be sentenced, with Sherwood saying there was a misunderstanding of the charges presented to them.

Soon after, the prosecution filed a motion to disallow Sherwood to represent Huston due to conflict of interested.

Sherwood represented John “Chance” Houle previously and Houle will be a witness in Huston’s trial.

Federal prosecutor Carl Rostad said Sherwood would be able to use knowledge he gained from representing Houle unfairly in his defense for Huston.

Thursday, the court denied the motion to remove Sherwood. A new trial date is yet to be set.

Huston, a business owner and former Havre school board chair, is charged with embezzlement in the widening Rocky Boy theft scandal.

Huston previously pleaded guilty to theft from an Indian tribal organization, failure to file currency transactions reports and bribery, but retracted the plea where he admitted to accepting a payment of $300,000 from Tony Belcourt, who has already been sentenced for embezzling from the tribe.

Huston allegedly gave kickbacks to Rocky Boy officials by depositing their checks at a local pawn shop his family owns. Huston maintains that a 2009 Chevrolet Suburban given to Bruce Harold Sunchild, who has already been sentenced to three years in prison, was a gift and not a payment.

 

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