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Posted by: kwflatbed

LYDA LONGA - STAFF WRITER
News-Journal (Daytona Beach, Florida)

PORT ORANGE -- A policeman quit his job after a woman with a criminal history complained the officer forced her to have oral sex with him, according to an investigation by the department.
The officer also, without authorization, used her as a confidential drug informant and disconnected the GPS tracking device in his patrol car when he went to see the woman, the investigation shows.
Former Port Orange patrolman Johnny Garcia, who did not return a phone call Wednesday, resigned from his post earlier this month while investigators with the Port Orange Police Department and the State Attorney's Office had him under surveillance, the investigation shows.
A hearing will determine whether the findings against him will stand. He will not be charged with any crimes, officials said.
The 28-year-old Garcia was being watched after the woman -- who asked that her name not be published for fear of retribution by a drug dealer -- set up an appointment with him at her mobile home while Port Orange detectives and an investigator with the State Attorney's Office waited in the shadows.
Now, the 36-year-old woman, who has been convicted of several crimes -- including child neglect, prostitution and drug possession - - says she's afraid because she believes Garcia will try to get even with her.
I'm so afraid of him I'm wetting my bed at night," the woman said.
The woman met Garcia on Sept. 2 after he and another officer, Ken Long, answered a drug complaint in the 5200 block of Ridgewood Avenue.
According to the investigation, the woman hid her stash of narcotics in a mobile home when she saw officers approaching her. In a ruse to distract Garcia and Long, the woman then offered to set up a drug deal so the dealer could be arrested, the investigation shows.
Garcia agreed, and the woman called a drug dealer and arranged to buy $100 worth of crack cocaine. Garcia told Long about the idea, and Long, in turn, called their supervisor. The supervisor, however, nixed the plan, telling the police officers the woman was not an approved confidential informant and that neither officer was authorized to pull off the operation.
Ignoring the supervisor, Garcia decided to hide behind the trailer to wait for the drug dealer, the report states, but after a while left and missed the dealer when she arrived. The woman purchased the crack, and when Garcia returned, she showed him the drugs.
Garcia told the woman he did not care about the cocaine. He drove her back to her own trailer, in a campground off Herbert Street and, once inside, had her perform oral sex on him, the investigation shows.
Three days later, on Sept. 5, Long arrested the woman on an outstanding warrant for domestic battery. As she was being hauled off to jail, the woman said it was unfair she was being arrested, after all she had done for the Police Department. The woman told Long about the drug buy and sexual encounter with the on-duty cop.
By Sept. 7, Garcia was under surveillance by the department and the State Attorney's Office, the investigation shows. Before going to the woman's trailer that night, Garcia parked in his patrol cruiser at a city ball field while he spoke to her and dismantled the tracking system in his car.
When he finally made it to her house, however, Garcia noticed a State Attorney's Office investigator moving around inside the woman's trailer. He left abruptly and minutes later was summoned to the Police Department.
That's when he decided to resign, the investigation shows.
Police Chief Gerald Monahan said the complaints against Garcia have been tentatively sustained until a hearing determines whether to permanently sustain them.

Wire Service

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