A South Lake Tahoe city council member arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence and possession of controlled substances denies he had any cocaine or methamphetamine.
California Highway Patrol troopers arrested Councilman Cody Bass at about 2:30 a.m. on Sept. 25 at the Meyers Agricultural Station on U.S. Highway 50 south of Lake Tahoe. The patrol said it was responding to a report minutes earlier about an “extremely intoxicated driver” in a Tesla on US 50 near Twin Bridges.
In addition to unlawful possession of a controlled substance, the patrol said he was charged with possessing methamphetamines for personal use and possessing cannabis or cannabis products while operating a motor vehicle. The arrest report said troopers had obtained “white powder resembling cocaine,” and “crystalline substance resembling methamphetamine.”
Bass told the Tahoe Daily Tribune the patrol’s report was issued “before the lab tested the substances in the car.”
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
“I absolutely did not have cocaine and I absolutely did not have methamphetamine and the lab results will show that,” he told the newspaper. He declined further comment.
Bass’ term on the city council expires in November 2022.