Judge declines motion to dismiss drug charge against Rose McGowan
LEESBURG, Va.—A judge on Monday refused to dismiss a drug-possession charge against actress Rose McGowan after prosecutors said they have additional evidence to bring forward.
McGowan’s lawyers have suggested the drugs may have been planted by agents hired by disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein to discredit her for making sex assault accusations against him. She was charged with felony drug possession after authorities said cocaine was found in a wallet she left behind on a flight to Dulles International Airport in January 2017.
McGowan’s lawyer said in court papers that the drugs could have been planted before the wallet was found by a cleaning crew.
At a hearing Monday in Loudoun County General District Court, McGowan’s lawyers argued for dismissal of the charges, saying that even if what prosecutors have alleged thus far is true, it is insufficient to sustain a conviction. In addition to the question of whether the drugs could have been planted during the time the wallet was unaccounted for, they have also argued that jurisdiction for a crime occurring on an airplane is only appropriate in federal court.
Prosecutor Rebecca Thatcher, though, said prosecutors have evidence beyond what has been cited so far in the charging documents.