Genesee County Deputy Caught With Cocaine
Last year in early July, Amy R. Gatica, a Genesee County Sheriff’s deputy, was accused of smuggling cocaine and prescription drugs into the jail where she worked, and giving them to an inmate she knew. Gatica was arrested and her Grand Blanc Township home and vehicle were searched and found to contain drugs, which were confiscated. Tests showed that she also had illegal drugs, including cocaine, in her system at the time of the arrest.
At the time drug charges were issued for fourteen felonies and two misdemeanors alleging that she both possessed and distributed illegal drugs to an inmate at the Genesee County Jail. According to police records, Gatica would hide the drugs in her clothing in order to get them to the inmate undetected. She was processed at the Genesee County Jail and then taken to the Lapeer County Jail to be held. This is common practice when a member of law enforcement is arrested in the county that they work for.
The following month the Genesee County Prosecutor’s Office filed an additional ten charges against Gatica, in the form of five charges of Medicaid fraud and five charges of obtaining controlled substances by fraud.
On Monday, May 12, Gatica entered a plea of guilty to two charges – possession of less than 25 grams of cocaine and obtaining a controlled substance by fraud. These are both felonies under Michigan law. Possession of less than 25 grams of cocaine carries a penalty of up to four years in prison or a fine of not more than $25,000.00, or both. Obtaining a controlled substance by fraud can be punished by up to four years in prison and a fine of up to $30,000.00, or both.
The two charges that Gatica pleaded guilty to do not concede that she smuggled any drugs into the county jail. They relate exclusively to having cocaine in her possession and the use of a private physician’s personal information to get prescription painkillers illegally. As to the remainder of the charges, Gatica’s attorney, Frank J. Manley, denies that his client has ever smuggled drugs into the jail and the prosecution was willing to work out a plea deal.
Gatica’s plea agreement calls for no up-front jail time, but also prohibits her from ever working in law enforcement again. It also requires that her Michigan Commission on Law Enforcement Standards certification be revoked.
The sentencing has been scheduled for Monday, June 23, in the 67th District Court in Genesee County.