EPHRATA - A Warden woman was sentenced to six months in jail this week for having methamphetamine and a gun in her purse.

Mireya Garcia, 27, was arrested at a Moses Lake home in October by Moses Lake police and state Department of Corrections officers. Law enforcement was looking into an out-of-state felon who recently moved to the area.

When officers arrived, they found Garcia sleeping on the couch and a purse on a coffee table in front of her.

When officers looked into a purse they found two glass pipes with meth residue, a small amount of meth and marijuana, brass knuckles and a small handgun, according to the police report. Garcia initially denied the purse and its contents belonged to her, according to the police report.

She later told officers the purse did belong to her and she recently got the gun for protection against the several gang members she knows and associated with, according to court documents.

State law prohibits her from possessing the gun because she is a convicted felon, according to court documents.

Garcia was previously convicted in Grant County of forgery, obtaining a controlled substance without a prescription, taking a motor vehicle without permission and identity theft.