A 38-year-old New Jersey high school football coach faces numerous charges related to steroid possession after he was allegedly found with two boxes of steroids and more than a dozen syringes during a traffic stop.
Prosecutors say Bridgewater police spotted a pickup truck driven by Charlie Garcia, assistant football coach for the Sayreville High School football team, in a motel parking lot notorious for drug activity late last month. After the patrol car passed Garcia's pickup, prosecutors say Garcia drove toward the parking lot exit, then abruptly made a U-turn and went back into the lot.
A short time later, an officer saw the pickup truck turn onto Route 22 West and, after allegedly observing an improper lane change, among other motor vehicle infractions, turned on the sirens to pull over the truck.
Garcia allegedly gave the officer a report about his previous whereabouts that conflicted with what the officer who saw his pickup truck in the motel parking lot had witnessed. A K-9 unit was called, and the dog gave positive alerts for criminally dangerous substances in both the driver and passenger doors, prosecutors said. Officers asked Garcia if they could search his vehicle and he consented.
Police recovered two sealed boxes of 400 mg steroids and 14 individually sealed and capped syringes, according to court documents.
Garcia was charged with possession of steroids and hypodermic needles, and given traffic tickets for driving with an expired license and failure to signal a lane change, among other violations.
Information on Garcia's attorney wasn't immediately available.
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Thursday night's football game against South Brunswick was canceled because of "unforeseen circumstances." The school board president told NJ.com it was not related to Garcia's arrest.
