Socialite Pleads Not Guilty to Drug Charges

Tina Schafnitz, a Newport Beach socialite charged with selling $1,000 worth of cocaine to an undercover police officer, has voluntarily enrolled in a drug treatment program, her attorney said Monday.

Schafnitz made her first appearance in court Monday and pleaded not guilty to drug sale and possession charges at her arraignment in Municipal Court in Santa Ana.

“I think her actions indicate that she recognizes there is a problem that needs to be dealt with,” attorney Robert Newman said.

Schafnitz was arraigned a day ahead of schedule and will next appear in court for a pretrial hearing April 21. She remains free on $25,000 bail, according to court officials.

The 38-year-old mother of two was arrested March 16 outside a Mexican restaurant on 17th Street near the Costa Mesa Freeway. Tustin police said she sold more than an ounce of cocaine to the undercover officer.

Schafnitz was sitting inside her 1997 Mercedes-Benz at the time of her arrest and police say they found an unloaded .380 semiautomatic handgun, with a couple of clips of bullets in the car’s trunk.

Her arrest sent shock waves through the Orange County society circles in which Schafnitz is well known. Newman said he hopes her prominence is kept in perspective as the case makes its way through the legal justice system.

“As this case continues, the relative wealth or lack of wealth of my client really shouldn’t be the issue of the case,” Newman said. “What should be the focus is that this is a woman who has done incredible things for Orange County, particularly for Orange County children. She has an illness that needs to be treated, and she has taken immediate and appropriate steps to see that that happens.”

The defendant’s husband, Matt Schafnitz, is a partner at a Laguna Hills insurance brokerage firm. The couple have been active in the Orange County social scene for several years supporting such charities as the American Heart Assn., the American Cancer Society and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Matt Schafnitz released the following statement on Monday wishing “to thank everyone for their prayers and words of support during this difficult time in our lives. We hope Tina’s current treatment program will result in full recovery.”

He added that his wife “is anxious to return to her family, her two sons, her friends, and her charity work for Orange County’s children which means so much to her.”

The couple have a son who was born with achondroplasia, a type of dwarfism. His birth seven years ago led to Tina Schafnitz’s taking a prominent role in the Short Stature Foundation based in Irvine.