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Urban camping crime: Drug bust in Bozeman sends three to jail

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BOZEMAN — A group of Bozeman men were arrested on Saturday, Aug.10, 2024, in an urban camping area described in court documents as a “hotbed of narcotic activity.”

According to court documents, three men were arrested after Bozeman Police officers on patrol in the area of Rawhide Ridge and Max Avenue off of 19th Avenue reportedly saw a man involved with multiple local drug cases complete a drug deal.

After seeing the officers, the man tried to leave the area on a bicycle, allegedly discarding a jeweler bag of methamphetamine but was stopped and arrested by law enforcement.

Officers made contact with three additional men at a nearby camper, two of whom were known to law enforcement as drug offenders in their system.

While the men were being interviewed, a woman also known as a drug offender involved with multiple local drug cases pulled up, and a homemade smoking device known as a ‘tooter’ was reportedly noticed sitting in the center console of her vehicle.

The camper where one of the men was reportedly living was placed under full surveillance as a warrant was signed by a judge.

It was then reported that another man was hiding in the camper, possibly overdosing on fentanyl.

Officers located the man hiding in the camper and arrested him. He was transported to the hospital to be medically cleared for incarceration due to ingesting an “ill-advised” amount of fentanyl and benzodiazepines.

Court documents state the officers reported the camper being in complete disarray to the point where it was a “near biohazard” with copious amounts of drug paraphernalia and fentanyl pills inside the camper.

The three men were on the roster to be seen in Gallatin County Justice Court on Monday, Aug. 12, 2024.