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Woman Charged With Taking Gun to 9/11 Memorial Also Had Cocaine, Cops Say

By DNAinfo Staff on December 29, 2011 6:53pm

A Glock.
A Glock.
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Glock, gun, bullet

By Shayna Jacobs, Jill Colvin and Murray Weiss

DNAinfo Staff

LOWER MANHATTAN — A tourist charged with bringing a gun to the 9/11 Memorial last week was also found with two bags of what appeared to be cocaine, police say — but she has yet to be charged with drug possession by the District Attorney's office pending toxicology results. 

Meredith Graves, 39, of Tennessee, was arrested and arraigned on felony charges of criminal possession of a weapon after the Dec. 22 visit to the World Trade Center site during which she allegedly brought her licensed handgun and reportedly asked officials there if she could check it.

Police who arrested Graves at the scene also allegedly found "two glassine envelopes of alleged cocaine," according to her arrest report released by the mayor's office. Sources said Graves told cops at the scene that the white powdery substance in her pocket was crushed aspirin she used to treat migraines.

Prosecutors have not charged Graves with criminal possession of a controlled substance pending the result of a toxicology test, they said. If the powder turns out to be drugs, she could be hit with additional felony charges before her next court date on March 19. 

Mayor Michael Bloomberg blasted the woman at an unrelated press conference Thursday, adding that even if she hadn't been caught for the gun, "She probably would have been arrested for the cocaine that was in her pocket.”

“I don’t know why anybody doesn't know what New York State’s gun laws are,” the mayor added.

Graves, who is reportedly a fourth-year medical student, was freed on $2,000 bail after her arraignment in Manhattan Criminal Court on Dec. 23.

She faces a minimum of 3½ years in prison if convicted.