St. George traffic stop leads to arrest for suspected counterfeiting and drug use

ST. GEORGE, Utah, June 8, 2024 (Gephardt Daily) — Police say a 52-year-old woman arrested for a traffic violation was later taken into custody after officers found illegal drugs and several items used for counterfeit in his vehicle.

Nicole Antionette Lecou was arrested Wednesday following a traffic stop for making an illegal turn from Bluff Street to Main Street, according to a probable cause statement filed in 5th District Court in St. George.

A St. George police officer caught up with the vehicle after it stopped in a parking lot, where Lecou provided an expired California ID, the affidavit states. The vehicle's registration had also expired in 2017, police said.

A K-9 unit was called to assist and provided his handler with “a positive indication of the odor of illegal narcotics coming from the car,” arrest documents state.

A search of the car turned up a bag containing a piece of aluminum foil containing a brown tar-like substance, suspected to be black tar heroin, the affidavit states. Officers also found a smoking device with a straw containing what appeared to be heroin residue, according to arrest documents.

Another bag in the vehicle contained “syringes containing suspected heroin residue, a rubber container containing several grams of suspected black tar heroin, and other straw-like devices consistent with heroin use.” , the affidavit states.

Police also discovered “numerous items consistent with counterfeiting,” including nine “$100 bills in (Lecou’s) wallet that were clearly counterfeit,” according to arrest documents.

Police also found “printers, computers, templates, currency that had been 'washed' for use in making higher denomination notes, chemical agents consistent with those used in making counterfeit notes, and other production-compatible electronic and mechanical devices. counterfeit money,” the affidavit states.

Police said Lecou later admitted to using counterfeit devices, equipment and chemicals to pass counterfeit bills while he was in Mesquite, Nevada.

She had booked a room at a St. George motel and “it was believed she was here specifically to commit counterfeiting-related crimes,” the affidavit states.

Locou was arrested for investigation into:

• 13 counts of possession of forged writings or devices, a third-degree felony
• Two counts of possession of a controlled substance, a third-degree felony
• Use of possession of drug paraphernalia, a class B misdemeanor
• Driving with an expired license, a class B misdemeanor

Police say Lecou could ultimately face 244 separate charges for forgery.

His criminal history includes “several convictions for dangerous drugs over the past several years,” the affidavit states.