A former Jamaican beauty queen and JetBlue flight attendant has been charged with a federal narcotics trafficking charge after trying to bring almost 70 pounds of cocaine through a security checkpoint at Los Angeles International Airport.
Marsha Reynolds, 31, who is a Jamaican-born US citizen, was arrested last week at John F. Kennedy International Airport after she surrendered to federal agents from the DEA’s New York field office. It is alleged that Reynolds abandoned 68 pounds of cocaine after she was directed to a secondary screening area at LAX last week.
Reynolds was charged with drug trafficking in US District Court with possession and intent to distribute to cocaine. The affidavit states that Reynolds went to the Known Crew Member security checkpoint at LAX last Friday and showed her badge and ID to the TSA officer on duty.
Reynolds was then randomly chosen for more security checks and was taken to a secondary screening area. When she arrived at the checkpoint, she dropped her bags, took off her shoes and ran from the area. Reynolds left her expensive Gucci shoes behind and all of the drugs.
After she ran out of the area, she boarded a flight to New York and went to her apartment in Queens. She then allegedly went to the Hilton Hotel near the JFK Airport.
The affidavit also states that law enforcement determined that her luggage did not contain explosives. After that, an LAX police officer did an inspection of her bags and found there were 11 packages of cocaine hidden in them. The drugs would be worth about $750,000 wholesale in the US, and could be sold on the street for as much as $3 million.
If she is convicted on the federal drug trafficking charge, she could face as much as life in prison and at least 10 years. Mandatory minimum sentences for drug trafficking charges assure her that she will spend time in prison if she is convicted.
Reynolds graduated from New York University and ran on the track team. She was runner-up in the Miss Jamaica World 2008 pageant.
Miss Jamaica runner-up caught at airport with $3 Million worth cocaine https://t.co/xyOYb0OxOE
— theGrio.com (@theGrio) March 26, 2016
$500,000 Bail Blocked
After her arrest, a judge in Brooklyn NY agreed to release her on a bail of $500,000 but Assistant US Attorney Alicia Washington requested a stay on that decision until an appeal could be heard.
Prosecutors say that her co-conspirator in Jamaica tried to flee that country last week, and that person also was trying to use forged travel documents.
Other Famous People Busted for Drugs
The former Jamaican beauty queen is hardly the first famous person caught with drugs and charged with a federal crime:
- Dionne Warwick: At age 61, the famous singer was stopped at the main airport in Miami and was questioned for smuggling drugs. She ended up having 11 marijuana cigarettes in a lipstick container. She was caught with only five grams of the illegal drug and was charged with possession. She did have to spend time in a holding cell briefly and she missed her flight to LA.
- Bobby Brown: Most people familiar with this famous singer know he has an appetite for drugs. Unfortunately, he has been caught with drugs several times; since 1995, he has been arrested at least three times for drug possession. In Brown’s case, we are not just talking about pot. He also has been caught with moderate amounts of coke. He has been into rehab several times, including the Betty Ford Center, but he continues to have a drug problem to this day.
- Paris Hilton: If you ever wondered how she is able to stay so thin, it could be because she does cocaine. She was arrested in 2010 for possession of cocaine when her boyfriend was pulled over in his car for swerving all over the road. When they rolled down the window, the police officer could smell marijuana smoke. After he did a search of the vehicle, he found a small baggie of cocaine in Hilton’s purse. He was arrested for felony cocaine possession and her boyfriend also was arrested for DUI.
- Macaulay Culkin: After his famous days as a child star, things generally went downhill for the Home Alone lead. When he got into his teens, he started to experiment with drugs and alcohol, and he was arrested in 2004 for possession of pot and Xanax. As of 2015, he is believed to still have a drug problem and has moved onto cocaine.
- Robert Downey Jr.: Few famous actors have had more problems with drugs than Downy. He has been arrested for drug possession several times and also was arrested on a parole violation. Fortunately for him, he appears to have cleaned his life up, and now makes millions as the lead in the Iron Man series.