West Covina mayor may have overdosed on heroin in Costa Mesa hotel room, according to 911 call

A woman who called 911 from a Costa Mesa hotel room where the mayor of West Covina was lying unconscious on a bed early May 4 told an emergency dispatcher that he may have overdosed on heroin, according to audio from the call released this week.

Officers responding to a medical-aid call shortly after midnight in a room at the Holiday Inn Express on Newport Boulevard found two people, one of whom was Michael Herman Spence, 51, according to Costa Mesa police and the 911 audio.

Police spokeswoman Roxi Fyad said this week that officers found “controlled substance items” at the scene. Authorities did not elaborate.

At the time, Spence was West Covina’s mayor, a largely ceremonial role he assumed in late 2017. On Thursday, Spence announced he would step down as mayor June 1, but City Council members voted to make his resignation immediate. He will remain on the council until his term expires in November, he said.

Spence has spoken openly about his issues with alcohol and drugs since he was cited on suspicion of driving under the influence in 2016.

“I want to apologize to the distraction that my personal failings have had on the city,” he said during Thursday’s council meeting.

No one has been arrested in connection with the May 4 incident, though Fyad said the Police Department plans to submit the case to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

The woman in the 911 call, who identified herself as Spence’s friend, said he was unconscious and breathing erratically, taking gasps of air every 30 seconds. Eventually, she said, his body began jerking as if he were having a seizure.

“He’s actually seizing out a little bit, oh my God,” she said.

The dispatcher asked the woman what substance Spence may have overdosed on.

“I would say heroin,” the woman answered, adding that she knew he had used the drug in the past.

The woman also said a syringe was in the room.

Spence told the San Gabriel Valley Tribune that in early May he had been riding public transportation to the California Republican Party Convention in San Diego and spent the night at the Holiday Inn Express in Costa Mesa.

He returned to his room from dinner and was preparing to exercise at the hotel gym when he fell unconscious, he said. He woke up surrounded by people and was taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach, according to the paper.

Spence pleaded guilty in 2016 to a misdemeanor DUI charge stemming from a crash in June that year that put him in a hospital with serious injuries. Authorities said he had methamphetamine in his system when his rental car slammed into a utility pole.

He was sentenced in December 2016 to three years’ probation and was ordered to complete a three-month alcohol and drug education program, according to Los Angeles County Superior Court records.

“If somebody is having a medical emergency, call 911 no matter what,” Spence said at Thursday’s council meeting. “I don’t want that to be discouraged. I want people to get medical attention if they need it and not worry about what’s going to happen.”