Leonard Garcia Discusses Arrest, Drug Charges

[Warchief]

WEC fighter Leonard Garcia, who was recently arrested for his alleged involvement in a major cocaine trafficking ring in Texas, vows his innocence and plans to fight all charges.

Garcia addressed the situation with MMAjunkie.com (MMA blog for UFC news, UFC rumors, fighter interviews and event previews/recaps - MMAjunkie.com) when reached by email.

"I am fighting it because there is nothing but someone saying I was involved," said Garcia, who was released from jail on a reconnaissance bond and will return to court on May 5. "I hope to have a smile on my face after this is said and done, but I feel like I'm in a fight for my life."

Garcia was charged with conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute five kilograms or more of cocaine and other substantive counts. He was arrested March 27.

He was one of 13 individuals targeted for charges stemming from five federal indictments. The alleged drug-trafficking ring operated from El Paso to Lubbock.

"I'd like to tell my fans to stick with me and pray that the liar in this case tells the truth," Garcia said. "I want to get back to doing what I do best: fighting for the fans.

"Your past is exactly that. My life has a bright future, and people that don't have that don't want me to have one either. May God forgive them."

For now, he simply asks fans for their support.

"Me and my family are very strong," Garcia said. "I was the glue that held us together. Now they are the wall that is protecting me and giving me support. We just ask everyone to keep an eye on this and to support us in this time of need."

Garcia, a Ring of Fire vet, made his UFC debut as a lightweight in April 2007. After three fights in the organization, he dropped to featherweight and joined the UFC's sister promotion, the WEC, where he earned a 91-second TKO of Hiroyuki Takaya in February. The victory pushed his career MMA record to 11-3.

Garcia declined to comment on his current standing with the WEC.

WEC officials have made no formal statement regarding Garcia's arrest. MMAjunkie.com contacted the organization for comment and never got a response.

Source

[mmasince91]

I really hope this guy is innocent! I would love to see him fighting again real soon.

[Gurry]

yeah man leonard garcias a scrappy kid with a TON of potential, i really hope hes not lieing and he pulls thru all of this. Good luck to him and i support him.

[azur_dog]

I hope the charges against aren't true and its just his past coming back to haunt him. Fingers crossed for him cause I think he's an exciting fighter and now that he's at fw the sky's the limit for him.

[grambino]

You don't get arrested by federal agents because somebody told a lie! This isn't grade school. This was a 4 year investigation and sting operation. There were no mistakes. Could there be a fluke and one of the 10 arrested is innocent, perhaps but it's more like 99.9% accurate. It's insulting to everyone's intelligence for him to say he was arrested because someone lied. The feds only bust about 1 out of every 10 people they'd like to because they have to be certain and make sure they have bullet proof evidence. Surely noone here believe that someone said to the cops..."hey, he's selling cocaine", and so they arrested him and 9 others. Crazy!

[The Sundance Kid]

I, also, have a very hard time believing that this guy is being 100% honest.

As stated above, the DEA doesn't knock down you door and arrest you just because someone told them you sold drugs.

Also, being that the investigation was so long, I highly doubt they would wait 4 years to gather no evidence.

[Noise Chopped]

The feds' don't fuck around - Wonder how this whole thing will play out.

[willpunisher]

man i hope he is innocent..
he is a great kid and fighter, i wish he was back in the ufc.

[twankydawg]

Kinda sounds like he might have been in some shit before but has cleaned up his act. I hope he gets his shit straight and gets back in the WEC, he'll be a strong contender for the 145lb strap.

[Frag x 3]

How did he find the time to sell drugs and train at the same time?