Fugitive Arrested in Mexico, Appears in Court
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP) — A 35-year-old Billings man who allegedly fled the state in May 2011 to avoid trial on felony drug charges has been returned to Montana, where he also faces charges of kidnapping his wife and a child and forcing them to travel with him to Mexico.
The Associated Press reports Benjamin McChesney pleaded not guilty Monday to the kidnapping indictment and another that charges him for his alleged role in the August 2010 theft of 133 pistols, shotguns and rifles from several freight trucks in Billings along with conspiracy to use firearms in drug trafficking.
McChesney waived a preliminary hearing on a charge of unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.
McChesney was arrested on Jan. 12 in central Mexico. U.S. Magistrate Judge Carolyn Ostby ordered him to remain in custody.