"Busted"

GETTYSBURG TIMES

Investigators: Garcia thwarted drug raid

BY SCOT ANDREW PITZER & JOHN MESSEDER

Times Staff Writers

A former Gettysburg police chief has been formally accused of providing an alert to suspected drug dealers immediately before a raid was to be executed last year at a Chambersburg Street apartment.

Rolf Garcia, 47, was charged Thursday morning with obstructing administration of law and hindering apprehension or prosecution.

He was Gettysburg’s police chief for three years before he mysteriously resigned last summer.

According to Findings of Fact reported by a state Investigative Grand Jury, Garcia — of 1975 Carrolls Tract Road, Orrtanna — was informed by the Adams County Drug Task Force that a raid was about to be performed in early February, 2006, at an apartment along the 200 block of Chambersburg Street.

Garcia allegedly told his 17-year-old son about the impending raid, and the young man, in turn, informed the persons who were about to be stormed. “My son denies it...I didn’t tell my son anything,” Garcia told WGAL-8 on Thursday. “I would never do anything to compromise my integrity or my flawless record.”

Charging documents filed at District Magistrate Thomas Carr’s office Thursday revealed that phone conversations — from Garcia to his son, and from his son to his cohorts — did occur during the night of the February 3, 2006, raid.

State Police Cpl. Kenneth Hassinger testified before the Grand Jury that he made a “courtesy” phone call to Garcia, at 9:22 p.m. on Feb. 3, to advise him of the forthcoming raid.

Garcia, the documents continue, then notified GPD detective Kevin Wilson.

When authorities approached the Chambersburg Street building shortly before 9:45 p.m., officers observed two males fleeing from the residence.

Dwelling resident Tony Hill informed authorities that he received a telephone call that night, allegedly from Garcia’s son, hinting that a drug bust might transpire, although he “did not know where.”

Hill told the Grand Jury that Garcia’s son purportedly received a call from his father regarding a search warrant, and that his son “relayed that information to others.”

Garcia testified he would have “never given the exact location of a search warrant to his son,” but he did admit that it was “possible that he told his son to stay away from a certain location.”

Charging documents stated Rolf Garcia “had no positive recollection of his conversation with his son that evening.”

Gettysburg Police Department policy states: “No personnel shall communicate any information to a person not a member of the Police Department regarding...any information of a confidential nature...”

“The allegations against the chief are troubling,” Adams County District Attorney Shawn Wagner told the Times, “because he could have endangered the lives of police officers.”

Borough officials, who signed a settlement package last summer with Garcia — which forbids all parties from publicly discussing his departure — have maintained a firm “no comment” stance throughout the duration of the mushrooming controversy.

The police saga ballooned in the spring of 2006 when GPD officer Sharon Gelwicks filed a state gender discrimination and harassment suit, against Garcia, with the state.

Thursday’s charges imposed upon Garcia, by the state’s Attorney General’s Office, are a new twist in an already convoluted ordeal.

Gettysburg Borough Council president Theodore H. Streeter, speaking for the municipality, declined to comment.

“We’ve been advised not to say anything,” Streeter told the Times.

Wagner pointed out what he termed a “direct correlation” between drug dealers and a potential for violence. He said his office was aware of the possibility of Garcia’s involvement within two days of the raid.

A check of records on cellular phones belonging to the primary people corroborate the accusation, prompting Wagner to refer the case to the state’s Attorney General, Tom Corbett.

“We were involved due to a conflict of interest,” Attorney General’s Office spokeswoman Lauren Bozak told the Times.

Why wasn’t the probing handled by a local agency?

“We work with Gettysburg Police Department on almost a daily basis,” Wagner said, adding that investigating a police chief with whom his office works could have had a “negative impact on relations” with other law enforcement staffs.

Garcia was not arrested Thursday.

“There were misdemeanors, so we scheduled a prelim and mailed (the notice) out to him,” said Melissa A. Maseneimer, a staffer at Carr’s court.T

he preliminary hearing is scheduled for May 24, at 10 a.m., in Carr’s court on Middle Street, Gettysburg.Each charge carries a potential sentence of two years in prison and a $5,000 fine.

Contact Scot Pitzer and John Messeder by e-mailing them at spitzer@gburgtimes.com or johm@gburgtimes.com.