NEWS RELEASE
MICHIGAN STATE POLICE
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On Saturday, December 2, 2023, at approximately 4:50 a.m. troopers from the Michigan State Police (MSP) Traverse City Post followed a vehicle with a defective headlight into a parking lot on US-31 in East Bay Township.
As the troopers were turning their vehicle around, they saw the driver exit her vehicle and noticed she dropped something. She then began shuffling her feet around.
The troopers spoke with the woman and asked what she had dropped, and she stated nothing. After being asked a second time, she lifted her foot and troopers could see a crushed glass pipe.
The woman was identified as 39-year-old Nina Francine Orsini from Traverse City.
Orsini was asked to place her hands on the hood of the patrol vehicle. She complied, but as one of the troopers began searching her, she started arguing and removed her right hand from the hood of the patrol vehicle.
She made movements toward her coat pocket as the trooper continued to instruct her to stop. The trooper removed her right hand from her coat pocket and placed her in handcuffs.
One of the troopers standing outside Orsini’s vehicle noticed a loaded syringe with the plunger extended in the center cup holder. They also found a clear plastic baggie containing methamphetamine under the push bumper of the patrol vehicle where Orsini had been reaching inside her coat pocket. Troopers found another loaded syringe and a spoon inside Orsini’s purse. The contents of both syringes tested positive for methamphetamine.
Orsini was lodged in the Grand Traverse County Jail. Orsini was arraigned yesterday in the 86th District Court in Grand Traverse County on one count Maintaining a Drug House, one count Possession Methamphetamine, and one count Tampering with Evidence.
Her bond was set at $5,000 10% cash surety. Her next scheduled court appearance is on December 12, 2023.
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