PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — Action News Jax now has new information about a former Putnam County Sheriff’s Office corrections deputy, David Garcia, who is facing multiple felony charges following an ongoing scheme to smuggle contraband into the county jail.
It all began with Garcia’s firing on January 12 of 2023, after reportedly striking both an inmate and his supervisor across the face during two separate incidences inside the Putnam County Jail. Garcia now faces felony battery charges for the assault of the inmate, but his supervisor chose not to press charges.
“Our inmates deserve the respect that they are due as does every other resident in our community,” Putnam County Sheriff “Gator” DeLoach said during Tuesday’s press conference.
Following Garcia’s termination, the sheriff’s office says the corrections officer who took over for Garcia was approached by an inmate, Francisco Arroyo, about receiving help to smuggle contraband into the jail. It was later learned that during his time as a corrections officer, Garcia helped smuggle the drug molly, marijuana, and cigarettes into the jail for Arroyo, while meeting up with a supplier on the outside, Malena Knox, to do so, according to investigators.
“I and the dedicated members of this sheriff’s office will not tolerate corruption in any way,” said Sheriff DeLoach. “We will pursue these charges to fruition in seeking the maximum penalty allowable.”
Garcia now faces, in total, two felony counts and one misdemeanor count of introduction of contraband into a detention facility, one felony count of use of a two-way communication device in the commission of a felony, and one felony charge of battery for his striking of an inmate.
“He should have been a bright star for the sheriff’s office … now that star has not only tarnished but dimmed for him as well,” Sheriff DeLoach said in disappointment.
According to the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office, Knox and Garcia have since placed a bond for their charges, while Arroyo has been transported to the St. John’s County Jail due to the nature of the crime.
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