Charge dropped, but alleged drug dealer faces deportation

An illegal alien and alleged drug trafficker, who sat atop the New Kent Sheriff’s Office most wanted list before his arrest last August, will not be prosecuted in county court.

New Kent Commonwealth’s Attorney Linwood Gregory announced on Feb. 1 that he has dropped the possession of cocaine with intent to distribute charge lodged against Gilberto Ventura Garcia. Gregory said there is insufficient evidence to proceed in court.

“The case would rise and fall on the credibility of a confidential informant,” he said. “I couldn’t vouch for that informant, thus I didn’t feel comfortable to put the case on.”

Gregory declined to be specific on what led to his decision. He added, however, that U.S. immigration officials are taking steps to have Garcia deported.

Garcia, 29, was arrested on Aug. 21 in York County. He was labeled as the leader of a Hispanic cocaine trafficking gang that operated out of an apartment house located at 13209 Pocahontas Trail (Route 60) near the intersection of Rockahock Road in Lanexa.

New Kent sheriff’s personnel acting with the Twin Rivers Narcotics Task Force along with a State Police SWAT team and FBI agents raided the apartment house, formerly known as Jackass Flats, on June 8. Three Hispanic males were arrested, but Garcia was not found.

Police seized a cocaine rock, described as the size of a man’s fist, along with drug paraphernalia. The raid climaxed a six-month investigation into the gang’s activities.

Garcia was indicted on Nov. 19 by a New Kent Circuit Court grand jury and was being held without bond in Henrico Jail East before being turned over to federal immigration authorities.

Part of the apartment building where gang members were living was gutted by fire last fall. The building has since been closed and is no longer occupied.