Bakersfield Trio Caught with 2 Pounds of Meth En Route to Humboldt County
L to R: Joseph Garner, James Johnson, Kathy Ham (Credit: Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office)
HUMBOLDT COUNTY — Over the course of a three-month investigation, agents with the Humboldt County Drug Task Force learned of a vehicle travelling up from Bakersfield carrying “a significant amount of methamphetamine.”
Agents obtained a search warrant for the vehicle and its occupants and, on March 17th just before 5 AM, spotted the vehicle heading northbound on Highway 101 near Cooks Valley. Deputies with Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office assisted agents in conducting a traffic enforcement stop on the vehicle in the area of Benbow Drive.
48-year-old Joseph Garner was behind the wheel, with 34-year-old James Johnson riding shotgun and 49-year-old Kathy Ham — the owner of the vehicle — sitting in back. All three are reportedly from Bakersfield.
A K-9 was brought in to search the vehicle and alerted police to narcotics in the trunk and underneath the passenger seat. Agents found about two pounds of suspected methamphetamine as well as a .40 caliber semi-automatic pistol and other items indicative of narcotics sales.
Garner was arrested for transportation of a controlled substance for sale, transportation of a controlled substance, and being a felon in possession of a firearm; Johnson for possession of a controlled substance for sale; and Ham for possession of a controlled substance for sale and transportation of a controlled substance.
All three are housed at the Humboldt County Correctional Facility.
