Paris Hilton charged with drug possession in Las Vegas
US media have reported that socialite Paris Hilton was charged with felony cocaine possession but she denied the drugs found in the purse she was carrying belonged to her.
Prosecutors in Clark County Nevada filed the charges on Monday the 30th August after police found 0.8 grams of cocaine in her purse at a traffic stop last Friday.
If convicted, the hotel heiress could be sentenced to probation or anything up to four years in jail, as well as a $5000 fine.
Paris was arrested at about 11.30 pm on Friday night after police pulled over a Cadillac Escalade in which she was a passenger. The arrest report states that police smelled “a strong odour of marijuana coming from the vehicle.”
The driver, Cy Waits, a Las Vegas nightclub promoter and Paris' boyfriend, was taken into custody after failing sobriety tests.
The police later found the cocaine after Paris accidentally dropped it from her purse. The arrest report mentioned “She told me the purse was not hers, and that she had borrowed it from a friend.” However, she did admit that a broken tablet of Albuterol, which is commonly prescribed for asthma, $1,300 cash and credit cards in the purse were hers.
Paris also told police that she hadn’t seen the bag containing the cocaine in the handbag “but now thought it was gum”.
She was placed under arrest and transported to the Clark County Detention Centre. She stayed there overnight and was released on the Saturday morning after authorities determined that she was not a flight risk.
Paris has denied the allegations, saying that the handbag and the cocaine in it were not hers. She says she borrowed the bag from a friend.
Hilton is no stranger to legal dramas. In May 2007, she served time in jail for violating her probation. More recently, in July 2010, she was detained and released after being found in possession of cannabis at Figari Airport in Corsica.
