Former editor arrested again on drug charges

Atherton resident Brian Bothun, a former reporter for the Daily Post and former editor of the Palo Alto Daily News, was arrested on drug-related charges in a parking lot at 2331 El Camino Real in Santa Clara at 4:50 a.m. Sunday, April 5.

Bothun, 47, was booked into Santa Clara County jail on charges of possessing and being under the influence of dangerous drugs. His bail was set at $11,000, but the arrest report from the Santa Clara Police Department does not say whether he made bail.

The possession count was for methamphetimines, a Santa Clara Police Department spokeswoman said. As for what Bothun was allegedly under the influence of, the results of a sample of his blood are not yet available, she said.

Bothun has had earlier run-ins with the law, including a March 2008 arrest by Atherton police related to misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia — a glass pipe — and an under-the-influence citation from a late-night traffic altercation in Menlo Park in July 2008.

The March incident included a search of his home that led to the discovery of child pornography on his computer, police said. Bothun pleaded not guilty to that charge on Sept. 30 in San Mateo County Superior Court, with his attorney alleging that someone else put that material on Bothun’s computer.

At the time, Atherton Detective Sgt. Joe Wade said he couldn’t reveal details, but did say the search originated from a tip about possession of child pornography.

Bothun served several years as editor of the Palo Alto Daily News chain. He was replaced after publisher Dave Price sold the paper to Knight Ridder in 2005. In the summer of 2008, Bothun began working as a reporter for Price’s new publication, the Daily Post.

Bothun was suspended from his job at the Post following the July incident.

By Dave Boyce