Kauai woman to take stand against daughter in heroin trial

LIHUE >> The mother of a Kauai woman charged with heroin possession was expected to take the stand as the first witness against her daughter, a report said.

Julia Scriven, 31, was charged with felony promotion of a dangerous drug in April 2018, The Garden Island reported Tuesday.

The arrest was part of a plot against Scriven by her mother, according to Scriven’s defense attorney.

The trial began Monday with opening statements and was scheduled to continue Tuesday with Laurie Scriven taking the stand.

Kauai County Deputy Prosecutor Leon Davenport laid out the case for jurors, saying that after a meeting in a Lihue motel, Laurie Scriven “knew something wasn’t right” with her daughter and later went to Julia Scriven’s room. Receiving no response to her knocking, she broke a window and opened the door.

Laurie Scriven found her daughter unconscious near a bag containing a substance that “smelled like licorice,” Davenport said.

Chemical analysis identified the substance as heroin. The bag also contained rubber straps and needles, police said.

“Julia went to sleep, and when she woke up, she was surrounded by police,” said defense attorney Matthew Mannisto.

Her mother planted the bag containing an illegal substance and documents with Julia Scriven’s name on them, he said.

“She wanted her daughter to be investigated by police,” Mannisto said. “And she did what she could to make that happen.”

Attorneys on both sides declined to comment on whether Scriven was offered a plea deal or why the case was being resolved by a jury trial, which is unusual for the charge.