Ex-DEA Agent Who Fled to Europe Is Denied Bail
A former U.S. narcotics agent accused of stealing $150,000 in heroin from the Federal Drug Enforcement Administration’s vault in Los Angeles and then fleeing to Europe after he was indicted on money-laundering and drug-trafficking charges was denied bail Monday in federal court.
U.S. District Court Judge Terry J. Hatter Jr. ordered Darnell Garcia, 43, held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles, declaring that Garcia’s lawyer had failed to rebut government charges that the ex-DEA agent is a flight risk and a danger to the public.
Garcia, who lived in Rancho Palos Verdes, was captured in Luxembourg last July and extradited to Los Angeles in late February. He faces six charges, including conspiracy, money laundering and revealing secret DEA information. His trial is set for Sept. 4.
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