The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
An Iowa woman is facing many criminal charges after police allegedly discovered hundreds of empty Whip-Its canisters inside of the Maserati she was driving.
Iowa City police ran a check of the license plate on a black Gran Turismo with tinted windows late in the evening on February 18, and according to the affidavit, it was revealed that the registered owner of the car was operating the vehicle with a barred license.
A traffic stop was performed when the vehicle entered a local gas station parking lot, and the police approached the car to investigate the matter.
When interacting with the driver, the authorities reported that the woman, identified as 22-year-old Ziyuan Zhong, appeared to display many physical indicators causing the belief that she was operating her vehicle while impaired.
One of the officers at the scene reportedly looked into the woman’s vehicle and he noted that there were hundreds of nitrous oxide canisters laying around in plain sight. When the containers were checked, it was reported that all but a couple of them were fully empty.
When the police informed Zhong that she was under arrest for suspicion of driving while impaired from inhaling Whip-Its, though she was given the right to remain silent, the woman was recorded as choosing to waive it and confessing to using nitrous oxide habitually, “because it makes her feel good.” She additionally allegedly informed the officers that she had used up to 75-canisters that evening, but usually uses about 200 per day.
Zhong was booked into the county jail, and she is facing charges for suspicion of driving while barred, possession of nitrous oxide, OWI, providing false identification information, and driving with a denied/canceled/revoked license.
If you or someone you love is suspected of a crime, contact Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.