Paris Hilton Arrested for Cocaine Possession

LAS VEGAS -- Paris Hilton was arrested on the Las Vegas Strip late Friday after police saw a cloud of what they suspected was marijuana smoke wafting from the windows of a black Cadillac Escalade driven by her boyfriend, then found a small amount of cocaine in her possession.

Hiltons’s lawyer, David Chesnoff, released this statement on her behalf: “Paris Hilton was released this morning on her own recognizance. This matter will be dealt with in the courts not in the media and I encourage people not to rush to judgment until all of the facts have been dealt with in a court of law. There will be no interviews and no more comments at this time.”

Shortly before midnight Friday a crowd quickly gathered near the stop on Las Vegas Boulevard near the Wynn Las Vegas resort, and Hilton was taken into the hotel "to keep her safe" during the initial investigation, police Lt. Wayne Holman said.

The 29-year-old socialite and Las Vegas nightclub mogul Cy Waits were booked into the Clark County jail, police said. Hilton was released early Saturday morning without bail.

Officer Marcus Martin said police found that Hilton had a substance that tests later showed to be cocaine, but he did not say how much of the drug was found. She was arrested on a felony cocaine possession charge.

If convicted of the low-grade felony, Hilton would get probation, but any violation would be punishable by one to four years in jail.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger declined to comment Saturday.

Hilton's attorney, David Chesnoff, told The Associated Press on Saturday morning that he was still gathering facts about the arrest.

"But I caution people not to rush to judgment," he said.

Hilton's manager did not immediately respond early Saturday to telephone calls for comment. Her publicist, Dawn Miller, did not immediately return an e-mail message.

Jail records showed that Waits, 34, remained held pending a court appearance on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Hilton's court date was not immediately available.

Waits and his twin brother, Jesse, are managing partners of the Tryst Nightclub inside Wynn Las Vegas, Drai's after hours club at Bill's Gamblin' Hall & Saloon, and XS The Nightclub at Wynn's Encore resort.

Wynn Resorts officials did not immediately respond to messages early Saturday.

Hilton hadn't commented on the arrest publicly, although she appeared to be tweeting. After her arrest, she told fans she was in bed watching the television show "Family Guy" and then she announced she was going to bed. It was unclear if the tweets were coming from her, being sent out on time release or being sent by someone else.

Earlier this week, Hilton was in the news when a 31-year-old man allegedly tried to break into her Los Angeles home.

Authorities have said that someone carrying two big knives banged on Hilton's window Tuesday. She posted a photo of the arrest on Twitter and described it as "scary." Nathan Lee Parada faces a felony burglary charge.

Hilton was arrested this summer after the Brazil-Netherlands World Cup match in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, on suspicion of possession of marijuana. The case was then dropped at a midnight court hearing.

Hilton pleaded no contest in 2007 to alcohol-related reckless driving and was sentenced to 45 days in jail. After spending about 23 days in jail, Hilton told CNN host Larry King that the experience caused her to re-evaluate the role partying played in her life. She said she wanted "to help raise money for kids and for breast cancer and multiple sclerosis."

While most famous for her tabloid exploits and reality TV series "The Simple Life," Hilton has appeared in the films "Bottoms Up," "The Hottie & the Nottie" and "House of Wax."

The Associated Press contributed to this report