A woman was arrested with counterfeit money and forgery tools, as well as heroin and drug paraphernalia, during a traffic stop in St. George on Wednesday, according to St. George Police.
Nicole Antionette Lecou, 52, was arrested in Washington County on 13 counts of possession of forgery writing/device (third-degree felony), two counts of possession of a controlled substance (third-degree felony), use or possession of drug paraphernalia (class-B misdemeanor), and driving on a suspended/revoked/disqualified license (class-B misdemeanor).
On June 5, a St. George police officer made a traffic stop on a black car heading north on Bluff Street. The driver reportedly failed to signal and made improper turns before going into a Denny’s parking lot.
The officer found that the driver, identified as Lecou, was driving a car that had not been registered since 2016. The officer requested a K9 to respond to the scene and found a bag, later confirmed to belong to Lecou, containing “a piece of tin foil with a brown tar like substance” — believed to be heroin, according to a probable cause statement.
The officer reportedly also found nine counterfeit $100 bills, along with “printers, computers, templates, currency that had been ‘washed’ to be used for making larger denomination bills, chemical agents consistent with the kind used in the manufacture of counterfeit bills, and other electronic and mechanical devices consistent with the production of counterfeit money,” according to the statement.
Additionally, police found “syringes with suspected heroin residue, a rubber container with several grams of suspected black tar heroin and other tooter straw smoking style devices consistent with heroin use,” the affidavit states.
During questioning, Lecou reportedly admitted to being the sole owner of the drugs and paraphernalia, as well as the counterfeiting devices, equipment, and chemicals. She also told police she spent counterfeit bills while in Mesquite, Nevada, according to the affidavit.
Lecou was booked into Washington County Jail on the charges previously stated.
No further information is available at this time.
