By Julie Manganis
Staff writer
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DANVERS — A Minnesota mom who insists she was here so her son could meet a fellow online gamer is being held on $200,000 cash bail after police found two loaded guns, two ounces of marijuana and a cooler chest filled with $32,000 worth of South African gold coins in her Route 1 motel room Sunday.
Cynthia Lorenz, 52, of Lakefield, Minn., pleaded not guilty to two counts each of improper storage of a large capacity firearm and carrying a loaded firearm without a license, along with charges of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute and disconnecting a smoke detector in her room at the Extended Stay America motel.
Police expressed concern that Lorenz was in the area for a drug transaction, noting in a report that the bed of her Ford F-150 pickup truck had been sealed with metal tape, possibly to hide the odor of marijuana. Further, Minnesota has developed a reputation as a route into the United States for Canadian marijuana smugglers. And prosecutors expressed concern about the large amount of cash and gold Krugerrands found in the room.
On Sunday morning, Lorenz's 14-year-old son called 911 to report that his mother was acting "crazy," and that he believed she had a gun with her, prosecutor Lisa Core told a Salem District Court judge during Lorenz's bail hearing yesterday.
Officers found Lorenz in the hallway outside the room and put her into protective custody, then conducted a preliminary sweep of the motel room, which turned up a loaded .25 caliber Beretta Panther in a night stand drawer, two ounces of marijuana in a plastic cosmetic bag in the bathroom and a Ziplock bag stuffed with $5,500 in cash.
After getting a search warrant, Detective Eric Clarizia returned to the motel room, where he found a second gun, a loaded Walther 88, tucked into a garment bag, and, inside an Igloo cooler, 25 gold Krugerrands worth $32,000, Core told Judge Robert Brennan.
Police also found pills and a pill crusher, and are in the process of analyzing those items.
The smoke detector in the room, which smelled like marijuana, had been taken down.
They also seized a switchblade knife from Lorenz's son, who is now in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
Core cited Lorenz's out-of-state ties and her access to large amounts of cash — police found a bank receipt indicating that Lorenz has $35,000 in her bank account — in seeking the high cash bail.
Defense lawyer Jesse Dole argued that his client is just a concerned mother who, worried about some social problems her son was having back home, decided to bring him to Massachusetts to meet a fellow online gamer named Sean, who is 17.
She had hoped the teens could spend some time together this summer, Dole said, but after meeting Sean, decided he would not be a good influence on her boy.
Dole said the teen had locked Lorenz out of their room at the motel, forcing her to sleep in the truck, and suggested that the 911 call was in retaliation for her decision not to let her son stay with the other teen.
As for the guns, Dole said his client had them out of concern for her safety while traveling, and said where Lorenz is from, she does not need trigger locks or permits.
Brennan, however, called the case "pretty strong" and noted that Lorenz is facing an 18-month minimum mandatory sentence. He granted the prosecutor's request for bail.
It is not illegal to possess large amounts of cash or gold.
A probable cause hearing is scheduled for July 28.
