2 Philly Ex-Cops Robbed Suspected Drug Dealers, Feds Say

Philadelphia Police and federal authorities on Tuesday announced robbery, firearms and drug charges against two former city officers.

According to a federal indictment unsealed on Tuesday, former Philadelphia police officers and residents Jonathan Garcia, 23, and Sydemy Joanis, 27, conspired to rob suspected drug dealers between December 2009 and June 2012.

"This is a good day, a great day," said Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey at a City Hall news conference. "It’s a good day anytime we can rid the ranks of corrupt police officers."

Both Garcia and Joanis worked in the 17th District, which covers an area of south Philadelphia west of Broad Street. Garcia was arrested June 20, 2012, and Joanis was arrested Tuesday morning, according to federal authorities.

Each man, if convicted of all charges, would face a sentence of 30 years to life in prison.

Feds Say 2 Cops Used an Informant

The federal indictment accuses Garcia and Joanis of using a confidential informant to establish contact with suspected drug dealers, plant drugs and then rob the suspected drug dealers after a traffic stop.

According to the indictment:

• Garcia and Joanis would provide the confidential informant with money.  The informant would then meet with suspected drug dealers inside their cars.
• Once inside the cars, the informant would plant illegal drugs, usually crack cocaine.
• From there, Garcia and Joanis would perform a traffic stop on the suspected drug dealers and search their vehicles.
• Garcia and Joanis would then confiscate any money they found and not report it to the police department.

"The confidential source would flee to convince everyone that it was an actual drug bust," said United States Attorney Zane Memeger. "It was a staged setup."

"Not Officers ... Street Criminals"

Police Commissioner Ramsey said Garcia and Joanis conducted all of these stops while on duty and in uniform. 

"They betrayed the trust of the public," Ramsey said. "But they are not a reflection of the vast majority of the police force."

Memeger added that there are more than 6,500 officers in the Philadelphia police department, and that corruption cases account for less than 1 percent of those officers.

"These officers are not officers," Memeger said. "They are street criminals."

Garcia was originally arrested for his alleged role in these robberies in June of 2012, while the indictment for Joanis was issued on Tuesday.

Since Garcia’s original indictment, Garcia has remained in custody while Joanis resigned his commission.

"He resigned before I could fire him," Ramsey said. 

Ramsey added that Garcia was caught in a sting operation while investigators needed to build a case against Joanis. Memeger would not comment on whether Garcia cooperated with investigators to aid in the arrest of Joanis.

"I don’t think this problem is systemic," Ramsey said when asked about on-going corruption investigations in the police force. "But I would like there to be zero of these kinds of incidents."

"Obviously, what they’re accused of isn’t standard operating procedure. But the bottom line is that the task force is working," Ramsey said, referring to an FBI and Philadelphia Police department joint effort to root out corruption.