Lang
5/8/22
The video game character Mario is famous for his interactions with magical mushrooms, and Iowa City Police say a Riverside woman took the theme a step further after she was found hiding her own “magic mushrooms” inside a Mario-themed lock box.
45-year-old Veronica Gatlin of the Riverside manufactured housing community on Highway 22 was booked into the Johnson County Jail just after 11:15 Tuesday night. Iowa City Police say just before 1am on April 17th they pulled over Gatlin’s 2002 Buick LeSabre for an expired registration near the intersection of Keokuk and Laurel Streets. A police K9 alerted on the vehicle and a lock box featuring images of Mario was found in the trunk. The Mario-themed box allegedly contained three clear plastic baggies containing suspected marijuana, methamphetamine and psychedelic mushrooms.
Police say Gatlin, who has a previous drug conviction from 2017, admitted the Mario box was hers. She’s charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance – 2nd Offense. If convicted, she faces a maximum of two years in jail.