Rose McGowan To Face Trial For Cocaine Charges: Judge

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA — A Loudoun County judge refused to drop charges against actress and #MeToo activist Rose McGowan for cocaine possession, according to reports. The cocaine was allegedly found in her wallet at the Dulles International Airport in January 2017, which she had left behind and later failed pick up from police, a detective said.

McGowan's attorneys said the prosecution's case against her was "obviously flawed from its inception," WTOP reported. Jessica Carmichael, Yancey Ellis and Jim Hundley, McGowan's attorneys, suggested that agents of disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein may have planted the cocaine to discredit her as she accuses him of sexual assault.

Charmichael said there is "no evidence" that McGowan was aware of the cocaine, and Robinson said after a hearing that "there was no cocaine in her wallet when it was last in her possession."

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But that wasn't enough for District Court Judge Dean Worcester, who declined McGowan's attorneys' request to drop the case, deciding that there is probable cause to move the case to a trial. Worcester said that determining whether the cocaine was planted "would be more appropriate at trial, where the burden is beyond a reasonable doubt," WTOP reported.

Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Rebecca Thacher and Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert are prosecuting the case. Thacher suggested that McGowan would have picked up her wallet from police if she didn't know about the cocaine inside.

“We charged the owner of the wallet. She admitted she lost her wallet. When she was told it was at the police station, she all of a sudden didn’t want to pick it up,” Thacher said.

McGowan's attorneys allege that McGowan is being scrutinized more than usual due to her celebrity status. "She may be a public figure but she's a person just like the rest of us," Carmichael said, AP reported.

But prosecutors said McGowan is "being treated like every other citizen."

If McGowan is indicted and convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison on felony drug possession charges.

Related:

• Rose McGowan Again Rebuffed Over Dulles Airport Cocaine Charges
• Rose McGowan Claims Drugs Were Planted On Her At Dulles Airport

Article image: Actress Rose McGowan speaks on stage at The Women's Convention at Cobo Center on October 27, 2017 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Aaron J. Thornton/Getty Images)