Montana woman arrested on drug charge

BONNERS FERRY — A Montana woman charged with drug trafficking waived her right to a preliminary hearing on Sept. 12. The waiver clears the way for Halie Herzog to be arraigned in 1st District Court on Oct. 5.

Herzog, a 23-year-old from Columbia Falls, was stopped on Sept. 3 for exceeding the speed limit by Bonners Ferry Police Sergeant Willie Cowell.

“Upon my initial contact with Herzog, I believed she was lying to me regarding her whereabouts and travels due to her unusually nervous behavior, of which was not consistent with the innocent motoring public,” said Cowell in his affidavit.

According to the police report, Cowell returned to his vehicle to complete a no insurance ticket and requested the aid of U.S. Border Protection Agent David Grainger and his drug detecting K-9. Bonners Ferry Police Officer Raul Lopez also arrived to assist.

When Grainger arrived, he talked with Herzog, before deploying his dog. According to the police report written by Cowell, “Within approximately 15 seconds of deploying the K-9, Agent Grainger informed me his dog alerted to the present odor of a controlled substance coming from the Ford.”

This gave law enforcement probable cause to search the vehicle. According to the police report, the initial search revealed approximately 50 small Zip-Loc baggies, commonly used to package illegal drugs, six hypodermic syringes in a decorative tin, a digital palm scale and measuring device, both with crystalline residue, and other drug related paraphernalia.

Court records indicate that further investigation led to finding approximately 5 ounces of a crystalline substance which field tested positive as methamphetamine.

Herzog was then placed under arrest for trafficking a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use.

According to the police report, also found in the vehicle were multiple different types of prescription schedule II and IV pills, as well as a small amount of marijuana. According to the affidavit, felony and misdemeanor charges for these controlled substances are pending.

“Herzog told me she drives to Washington State to pick up drugs approximately once a month,” said Cowell in his police report. “Herzog also told me she lied about being in Portland, Oregon and she was actually travelling back to Kalispell from Omak, Washington.”