Woman out on probation tests positive for meth

A woman who is currently awaiting trial on a drug case and is out on probation has tested positive for methamphetamine or “ice.”

Mary Rose Herradura, who is set for a jury trial on Dec. 15, appeared for an initial hearing before U.S. District Court for the NMI Chief Judge Ramona V. Manglona where she pleaded not guilty to the drug charges against her.

Manglona allowed Herradura to remain free but imposed conditions to include pretrial supervision, drug testing, and participation in a substance abuse treatment program.

After the hearing, U.S. probation officer Greg Arriola said that Herradura reported to U.S. Probation Office for a drug test, during which she tested positive for methamphetamine.

Herradura admitted using ice because she was nervous about her court hearing after Arriola informed her of her results.

On Oct. 20, 2020, probation officer Juanette David-Atalig submitted Herradura’s treatment referral documents to the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp.’s Community Guidance Center.

Herradura reported back to the probation office on Nov. 9 to sign related documents but the defendant was observed to be slurring her speech and had odd mannerisms. However, when asked about drug use, Herradura at first denied it but later admitted using methamphetamine on the evening of Nov. 6.

Herradura explained that a friend had stopped by her apartment to visit and began to smoke the drug in front of her. She said she asked her friend to stop what she was doing, but she ignored her. The defendant eventually gave in and ended up smoking with this individual.

On Nov. 11, Herradura notified the probation office that the sweat patch she had on for monitoring purposes had fallen off.

Herradura claimed that the patch had fallen off because she was sweating after catching a fever, but a probation officer told her that her explanation was highly unlikely.

She was then subjected to a drug test, which tested positive for methamphetamine.

Herradura then admitted that she used meth on Nov. 9 and said that she removed the sweat patch from her arm.

On Nov. 17, Herradura tested positive for meth use again after a random test. Herradura denied using meth so the specimen was sent to the national drug testing laboratory.

Arriola asked the court to summon Herradura to appear at a hearing to determine whether her pre-trial release conditions should be modified or revoked.

The court scheduled a hearing today at 10am.

Herradura is accused of conspiring with others in possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute.