Joanis False Sense Of Justice
When it was Joanis' turn before the bench, the judge took a softer tone: "I think you lost your way. I think you were weak. I think you had a false sense of loyalty."
For his part, Joanis said he quickly developed a strong bond with Garcia when they became partners in 2009. Both young officers, they patrolled Point Breeze and Grays Ferry, and were jarred by the frequent reports of their colleagues being charged with crimes.
"I never thought it would be me," Joanis told the judge. He described the first time he and Garcia crossed a legal line together.
The pair had seized some marijuana, he said, and Garcia suggested they keep half of it and falsify their report.
"All cops get caught," Joanis recalled telling Garcia. Garcia's response, Joanis
told the judge: "No, they don't. Everybody's stealing."
Joanis recalled struggling with what to do next. "I had a decision to make," he said. "Whether I was going to turn someone in that I cared about, or just hope that no one ever found out. I didn't have the courage to do the right thing."
That incident was not among the charges, including conspiracy and robbery, to which both men pleaded guilty last year. But it was the start of their criminal behavior.
Between 2009 and 2012, the pair committed five robberies or attempted robberies of drug dealers, netting more than $4,000 in cash that they left off their seizure reports.
Three were holdups of people they knew to be drug dealers. In a fourth, they enlisted an informant to buy drugs from a street dealer before they arrested the dealer and confiscated his money. The last was the June 2012 FBI sting that led to Garcia's arrest.
Joanis was not alleged to have known about or participated in Garcia's drug dealing, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Brenner, but shared culpability for not reporting his partner and pocketing some of the proceeds of their robberies.
"Law enforcement can't successfully combat crime if police officers are criminals themselves or if police officers are actively thwarting the due adminis
For his part, Joanis said he quickly developed a strong bond with Garcia when they became partners in 2009. Both young officers, they patrolled Point Breeze and Grays Ferry, and were jarred by the frequent reports of their colleagues being charged with crimes.
"I never thought it would be me," Joanis told the judge. He described the first time he and Garcia crossed a legal line together.
The pair had seized some marijuana, he said, and Garcia suggested they keep half of it and falsify their report.
"All cops get caught," Joanis recalled telling Garcia. Garcia's response, Joanis
told the judge: "No, they don't. Everybody's stealing."
Joanis recalled struggling with what to do next. "I had a decision to make," he said. "Whether I was going to turn someone in that I cared about, or just hope that no one ever found out. I didn't have the courage to do the right thing."
That incident was not among the charges, including conspiracy and robbery, to which both men pleaded guilty last year. But it was the start of their criminal behavior.
Between 2009 and 2012, the pair committed five robberies or attempted robberies of drug dealers, netting more than $4,000 in cash that they left off their seizure reports.
Three were holdups of people they knew to be drug dealers. In a fourth, they enlisted an informant to buy drugs from a street dealer before they arrested the dealer and confiscated his money. The last was the June 2012 FBI sting that led to Garcia's arrest.
Joanis was not alleged to have known about or participated in Garcia's drug dealing, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin Brenner, but shared culpability for not reporting his partner and pocketing some of the proceeds of their robberies.
"Law enforcement can't successfully combat crime if police officers are criminals themselves or if police officers are actively thwarting the due adminis