NEW: Providence firefighter pleads not guilty to felony drug charges

By: News Staff

news@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE, R.I. – A veteran Providence Firefighter plead not guilty on Friday after being under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office for felony drug charges. 

47-Year-Old Ricardo Garcia was charged with possession of cocaine and possession with intent to deliver. He’s been with the department for 16 years.

Court documents obtained by ABC 6 News reveal that a quarter kilo of cocaine, worth about $4,000 dollars, was found by police in East Providence after Garcia was pulled over in August. 
 
Police reports by the arresting officers say the firefighter was acting nervous saying that his hands were shaking and he was speaking in a "rapid manner."

According to the report, the officers asked Garcia is they could search the car. During the search they found a shopping bag containing a hand-sized bundle of cocaine hidden in a seat cushion. 
 
In that paperwork we’ve also learned that this is not Garcia’s first time in trouble for drugs. He told the officers that he got in trouble a few years ago because "his friend had drugs on him."
 
A source says that Garcia has been on the job since the arrest in August, and that colleagues are only now finding out about it.

Garcia has been suspended without pay, and his bail was set at $30,000 surety bail.

©WLNE-TV / ABC6 2016