SAN FERNANDO VALLEY : Woman Charged in Report of Syringe in Coke Can

A San Fernando Valley woman who last week told police that she found a syringe in a can of Diet Coke was charged Wednesday with filing a false police report.

Debra Uyeoka, 24, of Van Nuys faces Municipal Court arraignment July 21 on the misdemeanor charge, said Deputy City Atty. Laura Van Eyk. If convicted, she faces up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Uyeoka told police on June 14 that she was stuck in the mouth by a syringe found inside a sealed Diet Coke can. Detectives immediately questioned the woman’s veracity. “We’ve had previous encounters with her before,” said Detective Rick Swanston.

Investigators determined the price of a can of Diet Coke at a Van Nuys Dales Jr. market was different than the price she paid, and there was no cash register record of her alleged transaction, said prosecutor Van Eyk. The woman’s report came at the height of the nationwide wave of Pepsi-syringe faked tamperings cases. There have been several previous arrests nationwide, including two in Southern California.