Rose McGowan To Plead No Contest To Loudoun Drug Charges: Report

LOUDOUN COUNTY, VA—In a case that has dragged on for nearly two years, actress and activist Rose McGowan will plead "no contest" in Loudoun County Circuit Court to a reduced drug charge, according to WTOP. McGowan was indicted last June on one felony count of cocaine possession after a January 2017 incident in which she allegedly had cocaine in her wallet when she disembarked from a United Airlines flight at Dulles International Airport.

McGowan attorney Jim Hundley told the radio station the following: "The commonwealth has agreed to reduce the current felony charge to a misdemeanor of possession of a controlled substance. Ms. McGowan will enter a plea of no contest to the reduced charge when she appears in court on January 15, and the commonwealth will recommend a sentence that requires Ms. McGowan to pay a fine."

McGowan landed at Dulles in January 2017 on a United flight from Los Angeles. When the post-flight cleaning crew found her wallet, it had two small bags filled with what allegedly tested positive as cocaine.

Jessica Carmichael, another of McGowan's attorneys, said there is "no evidence" that McGowan was aware of the cocaine. They suggest that the cocaine may have been planted by an agent of Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced movie producer McGowan accuses of sexually assaulting her.

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Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Rebecca Thacher and Prince William County Commonwealth's Attorney Paul Ebert are prosecuting the case. Thacher has 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.

This week, Ebert confirmed to WTOP that an agreement has been reached, saying, "I anticipate a guilty plea, and she's being treated just like anyone else."

The maximum sentence for the original charge is 10 years in prison.

See more:

• Rose McGowan To Face Trial For Cocaine Charges: Judge
• Rose McGowan Claims Drugs Were Planted On Her At Dulles Airport
• Harvey Weinstein Indicted On Sex Crime Charges, DA Says

PHOTO: 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)