SP resident, former Fillmore soccer coach pleads guilty to drug sales

March 26, 2004
Santa Paula News

A former Fillmore High School girls’ varsity soccer coach arrested at his Santa Paula home pleaded guilty in Superior Court on Tuesday to drug-dealing charges filed almost two months ago.

By Peggy KellySanta Paula TimesA former Fillmore High School girls’ varsity soccer coach arrested at his Santa Paula home pleaded guilty in Superior Court on Tuesday to drug-dealing charges filed almost two months ago.Jose Nolasco, 27, pleaded guilty to two counts of selling a controlled substance and one count of possessing a controlled substance for sale.Nolasco also admitted to initiating drug sales within 1,000 feet of Fillmore High School after selling methamphetamine to undercover investigators while he was leading soccer practice.There is no evidence that Nolasco sold drugs to students, according to the prosecutor Ryan Wright.Nolasco, who had no prior criminal record, could face up to almost 11 years in state prison but will probably be sentenced to the county jail and probation due to his guilty plea before trial.
Two others were accused of selling drugs with Nolasco: Faustino Rodriguez, 20, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to sell methamphetamine and admitted that he also made drug deals within 1,000 feet of a school. He was sentenced Monday to 240 days in jail and three years probation. Gerardo Vargas, 22, is expected to appear in court in late April after pleading not guilty to charges of selling and conspiracy to sell methamphetamine.Nolasco was arrested in a rented room on the 500 block of Harvard Boulevard. Following his arrest, law enforcement officials summoned city Building and Safety Department personnel, who red-tagged portions of the building as unsafe for occupancy.The investigation that led to Nolasco’s arrest – which occurred after a drug transaction in a shopping center near his home - resulted from a tip that he was selling methamphetamine throughout the Santa Clara River Valley.Nolasco is expected to appear in court for sentencing on April 21.



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