Mother Says Someone Put Oxycodone, Xanax Inside Child's Goody Bag During Trunk-Or-Treat Event
SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA) -- A parent reported finding drugs in a goody bag at a trunk-or-treat event, but the organizer said she believes it was not intentional.
Anastasia Lenske held the pre-Halloween festivities in Simi Valley on Friday night and says despite the criticism she received for hosting the event during the coronavirus pandemic, she thinks it was a mix-up.
Simi Valley police were called to get to the bottom of what happened.
The drive-through event welcomed costumed kids and parents to collect candy while practicing physical distancing.
It was meant to be a positive gathering to bring back some normalcy for families amid the pandemic, but Lenske described what happened as a "shadow cast over the fun."
Police said a local mother told them that while disinfecting the wrapper of the candy her children received, she found a clear ziplock bag containing four circular blue pills and one white cylinder-shaped pill.
The pills were identified as oxycodone and Alprazolam (common brand: Xanax) -- both controlled substances with a high risk for addiction.
"I don't think anyone intentionally put it in there," Lenske said. "There's no way someone's gonna hand out a handful of medication to one kid. If they truly wanted to target kids, there would be several kids, several incidences. I think if they truly found a bag of candy or a bag of medicine in the candy, it was an accident, fell out of someone's pocket."
Simi Valley police are investigating the incident. As of Sunday night, only one incident of finding drugs in goody bags have been reported.
Police are investigating the incident, and are reminding parents to thoroughly check their children's candy.