Football
Associated Press 17y

Former Bobcat football star arrested on drug charges

BOZEMAN, Mont. -- Former Montana State wide receiver Rick
Gatewood has been arrested on drug charges and is accused of using
his athletic scholarship money to traffic cocaine from California
in the Bozeman area.

Gatewood, 23, and his brother, Randy, 21, were arrested this
week on federal charges alleging they sold and conspired to sell
cocaine from June 2005 to May 2007. They appeared Wednesday in
federal court in Missoula, but have not yet been charged.

The FBI, Gallatin County sheriff's office and other involved
authorities declined to comment on the case.

Gatewood, a Richmond, Calif., native, was an all-Big Sky
Conference wide receiver in 2004 and 2005. He signed with the
Oakland Raiders as a free agent last summer, but didn't make the
team, and was expected to try out with Major League Baseball's
Philadelphia Phillies this month.

Gatewood is the sixth former MSU athlete busted for crimes
involving drugs or murder in the past year.

Athletic Director Peter Fields called the rash of arrests
"frustrating" and said the latest incident could lead to a
house-cleaning.

"This is exactly what we've been working so hard to
eliminate," he said of Gatewood's arrest.

An affidavit alleges Gatewood and his brother were part of a
drug-dealing cartel, consisting of former MSU athletes, who were
known as the main suppliers of cocaine in Bozeman and sold the drug
to MSU and Bozeman High School students.

The group was also trafficking cocaine in Billings, Kalispell,
Helena and Missoula, court records stated.

"Several kilograms or pounds" of the drug was shipped to
Bozeman in the mail each week over the two-year period, according
to the affidavit. The cocaine was often mailed inside a can of
peanut butter to mask the smell of the drugs from police dogs, or
developed inside a DVD player, court records stated.

Gatewood told investigators the packages were mailed to his home
and the home of his girlfriend, court records stated.

------

Information from: Bozeman Daily Chronicle,
http://www.bozemandailychronicle.com

^ Back to Top ^