A Carson City woman who injured a sheriff's deputy in an accident Thursday night faces a felony charge of possessing heroin and a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence of drugs.
Cecilia Rose Norma Ristau, 19, was arrested at the Highway 395 bypass at Lakeview Hill after slamming her Saturn Ion into Carson City Sheriff's Deputy Dan Ochenschlager as he was putting flares on the road. Her bail has been set at $4,871. In a recorded interview, the woman admitted to having used heroin earlier Thursday night.
According to the arrest report, deputy Ochenschlager was setting up flares near an accident at the Highway 395 off ramp to the Carson Street exit when he noticed the Saturn, traveling at a high rate of speed, lose control spinning in his direction.
Deputy Ochenschlager ran out of the way to avoid the vehicle, attempting to jump over a concrete barrier. The Saturn then spun sideways striking him in the legs, where he flipped over the hood and then fell to the ground. The Saturn then collided with the concrete barrier. The officer was treated and released from Carson Tahoe Hospital.
A Nevada Highway Partrol Trooper spoke with the driver, Ristau. The vehicle was also occupied by four people and each had watery eyes and spoke with slurred speech, according to the arrest report.
During the initial interview, Ristau, who had red watery eyes and slurred speech, told officers that she was a type 1 diabetic and that she takes insulin using a pump which is attached to her body. She denied using any illegal drugs recently and said she does take medication for heroin addiction, according to the arrest report.
She told the officer that she takes other pain medication for arthritis and that she had taken some of the medication recently. She admitted to officers that she had lost control of her car and that she was driving at around 40 mph, according to the arrest report.
When pressed further, Ristau denied having any illegal drugs or drug paraphernalia in the vehicle. Officers then opened the driver's door to have the woman step out of the car to speak. The arresting officer saw a hypodermic needle exposed in the woman's left sweatshirt pocket. Ristau said she used the needle for her insulin, according to the arrest report.
The woman gave officers consent to look inside the woman's purse, in which a wallet was found. Inside the wallet was a small white wrapper that contained a black tar substance believed to be heroin, the arrest report stated.
The woman was read her rights and she agreed to speak with the officer. She said she had injected herself with heroin the night prior and said she used 1/2 of a "point" at 10:30 p.m. on March 23. She told officers that she had taken several prescription drugs earlier Thursday. When asked about the heroin find, she told officers that she had forgot it had been in her purse. Also found later inside her purse was a ripped balloon, commonly used to transport heroin.
A K9 was brought to the scene for drug detection. Of the four people in the car, the K9 sniffed out a large green bag located where a subject, Eric Augustus Segan, 24, of Reno, was sitting. The man advised it was marijuana and that he had smoked it earlier. Also found during the search was a large bag that contained new hypodermic needles and a spoon with burnt residue, the arrest report stated.
Officers continued to search and found "several items used as drug paraphernalia in the vehicle" according to the arrest report, including wrappers and several used cut straws commonly used to smoke heroin.
Under further questioning that was recorded, Ristau admitted to taking heroin earlier that night and that she injected 1/2 of a point of heroin into her right forearm veins, the arrest report stated.
She faces the following charges: Possession of a controlled substance, heroin, a felony; driving under the influence of drugs, a misdemeanor; speeding too fast for conditions, a misdemeanor, and possession of drug paraphernalia, also a misdemeanor. Passenger Segan faces two misdemeanor charges: possession of drug paraphernalia and possession of marijuana.