More than a dozen plastic bags of cocaine were found in the Gucci purse belonging to a member of the pop group Girlicious after the entertainer and another man were pulled over for speeding, authorities said Wednesday.
Natalie Mejia, 21, of Diamond Bar was being held Wednesday in Glendale City Jail on suspicion of possession of cocaine for sale or distribution, said Glendale police Sgt. Tom Lorenz. Also arrested on the same charge is 28-year-old Peter Asencio of Burbank.
Natalie Mejia
They were pulled over at Victory Boulevard and Winchester Avenue near an onramp to the Ventura Freeway around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday after an officer noticed a 1998 Ford Mustang speeding through traffic, Lorenz said.
Mejia, who was a passenger in the car and had just dined at a restaurant in Burbank, was heading to the airport and late for a flight, police said.
Police determined that Asencio was driving with suspended driver's license.
A search of the car turned up the bags containing what appeared to be cocaine in Mejia’s Gucci purse, Lorenz said. Mejia told officers the drugs did not belong to her and that she did not know how they got into her purse.
Lorenz said a preliminary investigation found the drugs may have been placed in her purse by Asencio, although investigators are trying to determine Mejia's role through further interviews and forensics testing.
Mejia posted $30,000 bail Wednesday afternoon and is due in court April 15.
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"You see this day in and day out," Lorenz said. "I certainly hope that drugs are not a part of her life, because drugs, quicker than anything else, will destroy a person's career, their family and their life. I hope there’s an awakening if she’s not culpable for those drugs.
Source: L.A. Times
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