Former Richmond Star Arrested In Drug Cartel Case
POSTED: 8:47 am PDT May 18, 2007
UPDATED: 9:00 am PDT May 18, 2007
BOZEMAN -- Former Richmond High football star Rick Gatewood -- who failed in his attempt to catch on with the NFL's Oakland Raiders last year as a free agent -- has been arrested on drug charges and is accused of using his Montana State athletic scholarship money to traffic cocaine from the Bay Area to Montana. 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 from a supplier in Fairfield, court records stated.
POSTED: 8:47 am PDT May 18, 2007
UPDATED: 9:00 am PDT May 18, 2007
BOZEMAN -- Former Richmond High football star Rick Gatewood -- who failed in his attempt to catch on with the NFL's Oakland Raiders last year as a free agent -- has been arrested on drug charges and is accused of using his Montana State athletic scholarship money to traffic cocaine from the Bay Area to Montana. 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 from a supplier in Fairfield, court records stated.
