Local News in Brief : Public Defender Arrested

A Los Angeles County public defender has been arrested in Glendale on suspicion of possessing cocaine, Glendale police said.

Martellus Alan Porreca, 39, of Glendale, who is assigned to the downtown criminal courts building, was arrested Thursday along with Cindy Jo Sehlhorst, 23, of Arleta and Thomas McAdams Cooke, 24, of Glendale when police served a search warrant at Cooke’s apartment, Sgt. Dean Durand said.

Porreca was arrested on suspicion of possession of a “small amount of cocaine,” and Cooke was taken into custody on suspicion of possession of cocaine for sale, Durand said. Both men were released on $2,500 bail. Sehlhorst was arrested for being in a place where drugs were in use and was released on $500 bail, Durand said.

County officials said Porreca will remain in his job pending resolution of the case.