Charges to Be Filed in Syringe Case : Van Nuys: A woman says object was in soft drink can. But police say container was more than a year old and the needle was in good condition.

Los Angeles police detectives said Monday that they will seek charges against a Van Nuys woman who claimed she was jabbed in the gums by a hypodermic needle in a can of Diet Coke.

Detective Joel Price said he planned to ask the city attorney’s office today to charge Debra Uyeka, 24, with filing a false police report. The charge carries a maximum penalty of six months in jail and/or a $1,000 fine.

Uyeka, who is deaf and mute, walked into the West Valley Division police station June 14 with an open can of soda that contained a small syringe. She wrote a report to officers stating she bought the can the previous day at Dale’s Junior Market in the 16900 block of Vanowen Street in Van Nuys and that she discovered the syringe after opening the soda and taking a drink.

Price cited other recent reports of syringes found in soda cans that are believed to be hoaxes based on investigations conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and law-enforcement agencies.

“It’s virtually impossible to tamper with the cans during production,” Price said. “It’s probably equally impossible to tamper with a can once it was on the shelf.”

Price said the can of soda Uyeka gave to police was more than a year old, yet the hypodermic needle she allegedly discovered was in good condition and showed no signs that it had been sealed in a soda can for a year or more. Soda from the can is being analyzed to determine whether it contained any contaminants, police said. Price also said that in subsequent police interviews Uyeka gave conflicting dates on when she purchased the soda.

“She said Sunday the 13th, but now she’s not sure anymore,” Price said. The store’s receipts lack a record that a can of Diet Coke was purchased during the time period that Uyeka reported, police said.

Shortly after the time Uyeka made her claim, detectives said they were skeptical of the report and that they were investigating it as a possible hoax. Price said Uyeka had previously filed reports with the Los Angeles Police Department, and at least one contained erroneous information.

There have been dozens of reports from 23 states that syringes have been found in Pepsi cans and at least six people have been arrested for filing alleged false claims.

Price said one reason people might be inclined to make false claims is the media attention they receive as a result.

“It’s a blessing and a curse,” Price said of the news reports of the alleged tampering cases. “It’s nice to alert people to potential problems, but at the same time, particularly in product-tampering cases, it results in a flood of phony police reports.”