Traffic violation leads to woman’s drug arrest in Geneva

GENEVA – A Melrose Park woman was charged with felony possession of a controlled substance after being pulled over for a traffic violation, according to Geneva police and court records.

Anaid Godinez, 18, of 1300 block of 25th Avenue Melrose Park, was also charged April 7 with speeding and violating her driving instruction permit, records show.

Police clocked a gray 2009 Ford Escape traveling east in the 300 block of West State Street at 44 miles an hour in a 25-mile-an-hour zone shortly before midnight, according to the report.

Godinez had a valid driving instructional permit, but did not have a person age 21 or older with a license sitting in the passenger seat as required, the report stated.

After police had Godinez get out of the vehicle, an officer saw a white oblong pill on the driver’s seat where she had been sitting, the report stated.

The pill was later identified as Xanax, a controlled substance, reports stated.

Xanax or alprazolam, which is used to treat anxiety, is listed as a Schedule 4 controlled substance, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration website, www.deadiversion.usdoj.gov.

“She claimed to have no knowledge of the pill,” the report stated.

But when Godinez was transferred to the jail, a booking officer found an additional pill in her change purse, the report stated.

Though this pill was yellow, it was also identified as alprazolam, the report stated.

The drug possession is a Class 4 felony is punishable by one to three years in prison and fines up to $25,000, if convicted.

Godinez was released on a $5,000 personal recognizance bond. The terms of her release are that she is not to commit any criminal offenses and not to indulge in intoxicating liquors or certain drugs.

She is scheduled to appear in court May 4.

No attorney of record was listed in the court documents and Godinez could not be reached for comment.