HAMILTON, Mont. – A local man was arrested on Thursday for attempting to sell a homemade pipe bomb in exchange for money for illegal drugs.
According to court documents, a Hamilton resident called 911 on Wednesday afternoon to report that his neighbor, 30-year-old Moicei Matthew Gostevskyh, brought a pipe bomb to his house “in an effort to sell it for drug money.” The neighbor reportedly told him he was not interested in purchasing the bomb.
At around 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, the neighbor called 911 again and said that he had the bomb in his possession, and he wanted police to come pick it up. Court documents said Gostevskyh went back a second time asking for money to buy drugs, and the neighbor gave him $25 and took the bomb and a .22 caliber rifle as “collateral.”
Gostevskyh was found near the Hamilton Taco Bell on Thursday, where he admitted to detectives that he created a bomb out of galvanized pipe. He also said, according to court documents, that it would cause “significant damage” if detonated.
The Missoula County Explosives Team retrieved the bomb from the neighbor’s house. They also found a homemade silencer on Gostevskyh’s rifle.
Gostevskyh was arrested and booked into the Ravalli County Detention Center, where detectives also found a tube containing cocaine residue on his person. He was charged with possession of explosives, possession of a silencer, and criminal possession of dangerous drugs.
