Thread: Sayreville coach in steroid bust at seedy hotel

Sayreville coach in steroid bust at seedy hotel

New Jersey October 4, 2014
BRIDGEWATER – The former assistant coach of the Sayreville High School football team was arrested on drug charges after police saw him parked at a Route 22 motel that has a history of criminal activity.


Charlie Garcia, 38, of South Plainfield, was arrested at about 8:41 p.m. Sept. 26 following a motor vehicle stop on westbound Route 22 near Commons Way, according to the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office, which released a statement about the arrest a day after MyCentralJersey broke the news.



The arrest was revealed on the day that the Sayreville district canceled its football game. District officials, however, were forced to say that the game cancellation was not related to the coach's drug charges. Garcia's attorney told NJ.com on Friday that Garcia resigned as coach earlier this week.



Bridgewater Police Officer Kevin Florczak was checking the parking lot when he saw a 2013 Dodge Ram pickup truck in the parking lot with its engine running and a man, later identified as Garcia, inside, authorities said.


After Florczak saw Garcia's pickup, Garcia drove to the exit and Florczak followed him. Garcia then made an abrupt u-turn and returned to the parking lot, authorities said.

A short time later, Florczak saw Garcia leave the motel and drive westbound on Route 22. Florczak stopped Garcia after he saw various motor vehicle violations, including an improper lane change, according to the prosecutor's office.

Garcia gave conflicting accounts about his previous whereabouts, the prosecutor's office said. At the time, police did not know that Garcia was a football coach.

Charles Garcia in a police booking photo.(Photo: SOMERSET COUNTY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE)

Hillsborough Police Officer Chris Englehardt and his K-9 Kondro were called to the scene. An exterior sniff of the vehicle by the dog indicated the presence of drugs in both the driver and passenger doors, the prosecutor's office said.


Garcia then gave permission for a search and police found a plastic white bag with two sealed boxes of steroids and 14 individually sealed and capped syringes. Each box contained 400 mg of steroids, according to the prosecutor's office.


Garcia was charged with third-degree illegal possession of steroids, possession of hypodermic needles, driving with an expired license, failure to signal a lane change and possession of a controlled dangerous substance in a motor vehicle.


Garcia, released on his own recognizance, is scheduled to make his first court appearance Oct. 10.

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