MIAMI – Twenty-four-year-old social media model Maecee Marie Lathers held her head in her hands and rocked back and forth Monday morning as she faced a Miami-Dade judge who would decide whether she would be back out on bond.
The court hearing came after prosecutors tacked on two counts of DUI manslaughter to the already extensive list of charges she faces in connection with a deadly August crash in downtown Miami.
Defense attorneys asked for Lathers, of Miami Gardens, to be again granted house arrest. Ultimately, Judge Teresa Pooler ordered that she remain in jail.
“I think she’s extremely dangerous,” Pooler said as she denied Lathers bond.
Police said Lathers told officers she was high on the party drug “tusi,” also known as “pink cocaine,” and time-traveled “from the future and had a crystal ball” following the Aug. 10 crash, which left Abraham Ismael and his friend Jesus Rubio dead.
Authorities said Lathers wasn’t even supposed to be driving at the time of the wreck. Her license had been suspended since January.
According to police, Lathers had her foot on the gas pedal at “100%” and was driving nearly 80 mph on North Miami Avenue in her Mercedes-Benz when she ran a red light at Eighth Street and slammed into a Range Rover and a Suzuki.
Ismael, a father, and Rubio were in the Suzuki. The Range Rover driver was injured.
Police said Lathers tried to walk away from the scene and had to be held back by bystanders.
In court, a Miami police detective said Lathers was given Narcan after the crash and didn’t recall anything about the crash a mere 12 hours later; the detective said that’s common when someone is given the overdose-reversal drug.
Toxicology reports showed that she tested positive for ketamine and MDMA, two common ingredients in “tusi.”
Recently-released body camera video shows Lathers writhing on the ground and screaming before first responders loaded her into an ambulance.
Prosecutors played that video in court on Monday. Lathers, whose Instagram page shows her wearing a variety of revealing outfits, watched herself in tears while clad in a baggy orange jail jumpsuit.
Pooler, in denying the request for bond, said Lathers’ actions showed “no responsibility” for others in the community and “a lack of regard.”
Lathers, a native of upstate New York, remained in the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center as of Monday afternoon.
She’s next scheduled to appear in court on Oct. 22, with tentative trial dates in November.