Hungry Horse man pleads guilty to federal weapon charge

The Daily Inter Lake

A Hungry Horse man has been convicted of federal weapons charges after showing up at an area shooting range in possession of marijuana.

During a hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Missoula, Nicholas James Moskaloff, 29, pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a user of a controlled substance.

According to federal court documents, Moskaloff was sitting in a blue Dodge Durango parked at an area shooting range in February 2006 when officers from the Flathead County Alcohol Enforcement Team approached the vehicle.

The officers reportedly were conducting routine checks at places where minors in the past had been arrested for alcohol and drug consumption.

As officers approached Moskaloff's vehicle, he leaned out the driver's side window, screamed and fired a shot from a .22-caliber pistol downrange.

Officers told Moskaloff to drop his weapon and arrested him without incident. They found a marijuana pipe in his pants pocket and marijuana in the ashtray of his vehicle.

Moskaloff, who apologized to officers, later told investigators that the shooting was an accident and that he didn't know anyone was in the area. He said he went to the range that night to "smoke a bowl and do some shooting," according to prosecutors.

Moskaloff previously was convicted in Flathead County of misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia in 1999 and misdemeanor possession of drugs in 2005.

On the federal charges, Moskaloff could face up to 10 years in federal prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for Jan. 29.