Actress McGowan pleads no contest to drug charge
FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Actress Rose McGowan pleaded no contest Monday to a misdemeanor drug charge in Virginia after cocaine was found in a wallet she left behind at Dulles International Airport two years ago.
Court records show she received a $2,500 fine and a suspended jail sentence at a Circuit Court hearing in Leesburg. The sentence was first reported by WTOPFM. She told the station she entered the plea because she “just wanted it to be over.”
Last year, McGowan’s lawyers suggested the drugs were planted in retaliation for accusing Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein of sexual assault.
McGowan was initially charged with a felony that could have carried jail time, but the plea deal reduced the charge to a misdemeanor.
Prince William County Commonwealth’s Attorney Paul Ebert, who was appointed to prosecute the case after Loudoun County prosecutor James Plowman recused himself, said the $2,500 fine and suspended jail term is a typical sentence for a first-time offender caught with a small amount of drugs.
McGowan’s lawyer, James Hundley, declined comment Monday beyond a statement he issued last week, in which he outlined McGowan’s intention to plead no contest.
While McGowan’s lawyers suggested at various times that the drugs may have been planted, they presented no evidence to back up the claim.