Sheriffs Find Loaded Gun, Drugs During Traffic Stop

Gilbert Bottom, Nancy Herzog-Bottom busted for meth, morphine and more

Humboldt Sentinel
12/29/08
By Sentinel Staff

FORTUNA -- A deputy from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office scored a major bust early this morning during a routine traffic stop.

Shortly before 1 a.m., the deputy pulled over a vehicle on Fortuna Boulevard driven by Gilbert Bottom, 44, of Klamath. According to the release from public information officer Brenda Godsey, the vehicle smelled of marijuana as the deputy approached the vehicle -- a suspicion verified by Bottom, who also admitted to the officer that there was a loaded pistol underneath his seat. The deputy recovered the loaded weapon without incident, and also found a quarter-pound of marijuana underneath the driver’s seat.

A further search uncovered two plastic bags in the trunk containing 31.6 grams and 24.3 grams of marijuana, respectively. At this point, the deputy placed Bottom and his passenger, 57-year-old Nancy Herzog-Bottom of Kneeland, under arrest and searched them both. Bottom had a bag containing 42.2 grams of marijuana in his jacket, according to the report, while Herzog-Bottom allegedly had two bottles of morphine and a bottle of morphine pills, as well as a small amount of methamphetamine.

Both were taken to the county lock-up without incident, where Bottom was booked for possession of a concealed firearm, transportation of marijuana, and the vehicle equipment violation which instigated the traffic stop in the first place. Herzog-Bottom was also booked for possession of a narcotic controlled substance, possession of a controlled substance, and possession of a controlled substance without a prescription. They are expected to be arraigned in Humboldt County Superior Court by Wednesday.