Mayor’s Daughter Admits Using Speed

The daughter of Irvine Mayor Christina L. Shea pleaded guilty Thursday to using methamphetamine and agreed to enter a rehabilitation program.

Since Stephanie Shea’s arrest Aug. 10, her mother has come to her defense, saying the drugs were not for her daughter and voicing concerns about police handling of the case.

On Thursday, however, the 49-year-old mayor acknowledged that her daughter “wronged” but remained critical of the way the police handled the incident.

“Whatever it’s going to take to help her, we’re going to do it,” the mayor said.

Superior Court Judge Susanne S. Shaw sentenced Stephanie Shea, 21, to 180 days in jail. But the sentence will be waived if she successfully completes a 180-day drug-rehabilitation program and a three-year probation.

Late Thursday in an interview from home, Christina Shea leveled new charges against police officials who handled her daughter’s case.

“I believe my daughter’s life was put in danger in the process,” said the mayor, who plans to meet with Chief Charles Brobeck over the issue.

Shea said that after her daughter’s arrest, police “turned her into an informant.” Based on information provided by her daughter, police later arrested a man, Shea said.

The suspect, an acquaintance of Stephanie Shea’s, has been calling her daughter from jail, the mayor said.

“If he had been a big drug trafficker, he could have come after her and killed her,” she added. “And that scared me and that scared my daughter.”

Irvine police spokesman Lt. Sam Allevato said he did not know if Stephanie Shea cooperated with authorities in helping arrest another suspect but said such procedures are not unusual in narcotics investigations.

The mayor “took issue with some of the tactics that were used,” Allevato said. “Those should be matters for the court to consider, not the court of public opinion. . . . We’ve felt from the beginning that the case involved an adult, Stephanie Shea, and all the comments as to her guilt should have been expressed by Stephanie Shea. She’s an adult.”

Irvine police arrested Stephanie Shea after a traffic stop led to the discovery of 42 milligrams of methamphetamine. She was charged with one count of possessing the drug and one of transporting it. The district attorney’s office dropped the transportation charges in exchange for the guilty plea on the other count.

The incident touched off a political whirlwind in Irvine City Hall, with the mayor accusing a fellow council member, Larry Agran, of leaking the arrest to the press.

Agran denies the allegations and has threatened to sue for slander if the mayor does not publicly apologize.

Later, Councilman Dave Christensen made public a message the mayor left on his answering machine blasting the Police Department.