John Jefferson
Left: Maecee Lathers in the back of an ambulance after the crash (Miami-Dade Police Department). Right: Lathers in court on Sept. 16, 2024 (WPLG).
Florida prosecutors successfully moved for the pretrial detainment of an Instagram model who allegedly killed two men in a crash while behind the wheel of a Mercedes and under the influence of “pink cocaine,” as a judge remarked that she sees the defendant as “extremely dangerous.”
Macee Lathers, 24, appeared in a Miami-Dade County courtroom in jail orange on Monday and looked on as Judge Teresa Pooler said “I think she’s extremely dangerous” and denied her bond, WPLG reported a matter of days after prosecutors slapped her with DUI manslaughter charges and brought an end to her stint on house arrest.
As Law&Crime has reported, Lathers, a self-described Instagram model from New York, on Aug. 10 allegedly ran a red light in Miami while high on “pink cocaine,” around 7 a.m., slammed her Mercedes into a Suzuki, killed Abraham Molina and his friend Jesus Rubio, and injured Molina’s fiancée Juanita Hernandez while the victims were on their way to work. Minutes later, Lathers told cops that she was “from the future.”
Bodycam video showed Lathers vomiting in the street after the crash, at one point screaming, and then telling officers “My name is Mercedes!”
“I’m from the future,” she said, also referencing a “crystal ball.”
Maecee Lathers tells officers she’s from the future and has a crystal ball (Miami-Dade Police Department).
“Awesome, amazing,” a male officer at the scene replied. “Are you on drugs?”
In the video, the cops could then be heard saying that Lathers had acknowledged being on the ketamine-based party drug “tusi” or “2C,” otherwise known as “pink cocaine.”
Lathers was allegedly driving without a valid license and at 57 mph just moments before the crash, then had hit the “accelerator at 100%,” ramping up her speed to 78 mph and causing the deadly collision, a crash she reportedly didn’t remember in the hours after her arrest.
After toxicology reports came back, prosecutors filed DUI manslaughter charges in the deaths of Molina and Rubio and moved to detain Lathers.
Lathers initially posted bail after pleading not guilty to charges of vehicular homicide, reckless driving, driving on a suspended license and leaving the scene of a crash, a collision that involved three cars: her Mercedes, a Ranger Rover, and the Suzuki that Molina, Hernandez, and Rubio were driving in.
The DUI manslaughter charges, a consequence of toxicology reports that allegedly confirmed Lathers’ drug use, are punishable by at least four years upon conviction but could also mean up to three decades in prison.
Court records say that a hearing in the case is set for the 9:15 a.m. on Oct. 22.
Jason Kandel contributed to this report.
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