Reported by the Associated Press

Paris Hilton was arrested on the Las Vegas Strip late Friday after police saw a cloud of what they suspected was marijuana smoke wafting from the windows of a black Cadillac Escalade driven by her boyfriend, then found a small amount of cocaine in her possession.

A crowd quickly gathered near the stop on Las Vegas Boulevard near the Wynn Las Vegas resort at shortly before midnight Friday, and Hilton was taken into the hotel “to keep her safe” during the initial investigation, police Lt. Wayne Holman said.

The 29-year-old socialite and Las Vegas nightclub mogul Cy Waits were booked into the Clark County jail, police said. Hilton was released early Saturday morning without bail.

Officer Marcus Martin said police found that Hilton had a substance that tests later showed to be cocaine, but he did not say how much of the drug was found. She was arrested on a felony cocaine possession charge.

If convicted of the low-grade felony, Hilton would get probation, but any violation would be punishable by one to four years in jail.

Clark County District Attorney David Roger declined to comment Saturday.

Hilton’s attorney, David Chesnoff, told The Associated Press on Saturday morning that he was still gathering facts about the arrest.

“But I caution people not to rush to judgment,” he said.

Hilton’s manager did not immediately respond early Saturday to telephone calls for comment. Her publicist, Dawn Miller, did not immediately return an e-mail message.

Jail records showed that Waits, 34, remained held pending a court appearance on a charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Hilton’s court date was not immediately available.

Waits and his twin brother, Jesse, are managing partners of the Tryst Nightclub inside Wynn Las Vegas, Drai’s after hours club at Bill’s Gamblin’ Hall & Saloon, and XS The Nightclub at Wynn’s Encore resort.

Wynn Resorts officials did not immediately respond to messages early Saturday.

Hilton hadn’t commented on the arrest publicly, although she appeared to be tweeting. After her arrest, she told fans she was in bed watching the television show “Family Guy” and then she announced she was going to bed. It was unclear if the tweets were coming from her, being sent out on time release or being sent by someone else.