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Drugs

$188 Million Lottery Winner Marie Holmes Was Charged with Pot Possession

The woman's luck ran out when she found herself confronted by Brunswick County Sheriff's deputies.
Lottery winner Marie Holmes (center left). Screenshot via WWAY

When 26-year-old single mother of four Marie Holmes won the lottery in February, she was beaming. The North Carolina resident beat the 175 million to one odds of winning the $188 million Powerball Jackpot—which, after taxes, left her with about $88 million and plans to donate to organizations working on cerebral palsy, which afflicts her young child.

But on Thursday night, Holmes's luck took a turn for the worse: She was arrested for the classic American offense of having some weed, Wilmington ABC affiliate WWAY reports.

Brunswick County Sheriff's deputies came to Holmes's house to arrest Lamarr McDow—who reportedly lived with her—for violating the terms of his release from jail. According to WWAY, McDow, an alleged gang member, was released on a $3 million bond in March after being charged with heroin trafficking—a bond Holmes may have picked up with some of that fresh cash.

After smelling pot at Holmes's house, cops obtained a search warrant. They subsequently found weed and a gun allegedly belonging to McDow. Holmes, McDow, and two other men were charged with marijuana possession and possession of marijuana paraphernalia. McDow was also charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and a fourth man—Jeffrey Antuan Gause—was charged with resisting a public officer.