Strip search leads to cash seizure
Aug. 11—A strip search at the Ector County jail didn't turn out well for an Odessa man, who now faces a felony drug charge and is in danger of losing nearly $2,400 to the authorities.
According to online Ector County District Court records, an Odessa police officer pulled David Alonzo Garcia, 33, over on July 29 for making an unsafe lane change near West 42nd Street and Northwest Loop 338. The officer recognized Garcia because of prior drug arrests and when he asked him if he had any illegal drugs on him, Garcia admitted he had a small bag of marijuana with him.
When Garza was taken to the jail, he fought jailers in the show room where strip searches are performed and they found 22.8 grams of oxycodone hydrochloride 30 mg pills in his rectum, court records state.
"Officers know that these pills contain Fentanyl, a powerful drug that has caused multiple deaths in the City of Odessa and throughout the U.S. in children and adults," the officer wrote in his report.
Garza was booked on suspicion of manufacturing/delivering of a controlled substance, prohibited substance in a correctional facility and possession of marijuana.
Garza also had a large number of $20 and $100 bills on him, court records state. A search of his cell phone revealed messages with Garza referring to the distribution of narcotics.
According to court documents, the Ector County Attorney's Office has asked a judge to force Garza to forfeit $2,376 believing it to be the proceeds of a felony crime.
