Three drugs found in woman accused of hitting pedestrians

Kim Smith

Tuesday, April 25, 2000 | 10:53 a.m.

A Las Vegas woman accused of running over a group of tourists walking down the Strip last week had large amounts of three different drugs in her system.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Gary Booker told Justice of the Peace Tony Abbatangelo that Juanita Kim McDonald, 24, had marijuana, methamphetamine and the designer drug Ecstasy in her system at the time of Wednesday's accident.

Booker revealed the results of McDonald's drug tests during her second bond-setting hearing this morning. Abbantangelo increased her bond from $10,000 to $40,000.

The prosecutor also filed a criminal complaint this morning charging McDonald with five counts of driving under the influence of a prohibited substance and five counts of reckless driving.

According to police, McDonald was driving along Las Vegas Boulevard South when her car drove up onto the sidewalk in front of the Aladdin hotel-casino, striking half a dozen pedestrians from behind.

Five people were taken to the hospital and one, Mike Wienkes, 36, of Mineral Point, Wis., is in a coma in critical condition at University Medical Center, Booker said.

If doctors are unable to control the swelling of Wienkes' brain, he will likely die, Booker said.

Booker asked Abbatangelo to set McDonald's bail at $1.5 million, saying that McDonald is a flight risk because of the serious nature of the charges she faces and her background.

The prosecutor noted McDonald has had six bench warrants issued for her arrest in the past because she failed to appear in court on traffic citations.

In addition, Booker said McDonald works as an exotic dancer, which many times indicates a transient lifestyle.

McDonald's attorney, John Moran Jr., asked Abbatangelo to not get inflamed by the attention the case is getting and by Booker's "assumptions and speculations."

Moran said the accident was not a fatality and asked that Abbatangelo keep McDonald's bond at the $10,000 it was set at Monday.

The levels of marijuana and methamphetamine in McDonald's blood far exceeded the amounts necessary to charge her under a new law that states those with certain amounts of drugs in their system are legally presumed to be driving under the influence. Ecstasy is not covered under the prohibited substance statute, but is still considered a controlled substance.

Booker told Abbatangelo he expects to take the McDonald case to a grand jury May 9.