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A former Philadelphia police officer with a South Philly link will serve 210 months in jail for involvement in a robbery and drug scheme.
On Feb. 4, 26-year-old Jonathan Garcia received his sentence, having pleaded guilty on July 30, 2013 to distribution of heroin, conspiracy to commit robbery, robbery, attempted robbery and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence, U.S. Attorney spokeswoman Patty Hartman said. Sydemy Joanis, his former partner within the 17th District, 20th and Federal streets, will serve 63 months.
An investigation by the Philadelphia Police Department and the FBI discovered that in December ’09, Garcia and Joanis entered into a scheme by which they agreed to rob suspected drug pushers. The defendants would often stop and frisk individuals who were allegedly loitering, and if they recovered any drugs, they would detain the figures and steal some or all of their money. On other occasions, they would call on an accomplice, who, at their direction, would summon a suspected drug dealer for a meeting in the latter’s car. The person would then buy a small amount of drugs, usually crack cocaine, and then leave some of them in plain view on the floorboard of the vehicle. After the phony buyer would exit, the defendants would arrive in their patrol car, stop the dealer and arrest him after seeing the contraband.
The investigation also noted they would then steal the peddler’s profits and split it among themselves. When committing these offenses, they wore their police uniforms and openly carried firearms. To conceal their actions, Garcia and Joanis falsified reports by failing to disclose their use of the accomplice, fabricating the reason for the stop and electing not to divulge some or all of the confiscated cash.
Along with his jail time, Garcia, based on a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Legrome Davis, must pay a fine of $5,000 and a special assessment of $900 and will have five years of supervised release.
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