Two men arrested on felony drug charges; found with 4,600 hydrocodone pills 

     
         Jason Milligan                 Dustin Garcia

By Jennifer Fike
Staff Writer

Two men were charged with felony offenses for possession of controlled substances after a routine traffic stop turned into a drug bust April 3.

At 3:50 a.m. April 3, Officer Doyle Flatt uncovered bottles containing 4,600 hydrocodone pills in the suspects’ vehicle and a bottle of promethazine with codeine.

According to police reports, Flatt first grew suspicious of the men driving a 2006 Kia Optima early Friday morning, when they were seen slowly weaving through the closed business district along Princeton Drive. Running the registration of the vehicle, Flatt discovered the car was registered in Balch Springs, a community southeast of Dallas.

When Flatt approached the vehicle in his patrol car, he said the Optima’s occupants began driving erratically, so he pulled them over. During the traffic stop, Flatt said he noticed the individuals in the car seemed nervous. 

When asked about their reasons for being in Princeton at the early hour, 26-year-old Jason Milligan of Crandall, who was driving the Optima, and 26-year-old Dustin Garcia of Scurry said they were travelling from Dallas to McKinney.

While running a records check from his patrol car, Flatt said he saw Garcia appear to hide something under the car’s seats. 

Based on the suspicious behavior and concerned there could possibly be a weapon in the vehicle, Flatt requested to search the car. The occupants consented. 

During the search, Flatt discovered two pairs of gloves and muddy shoes, two black shirts and black hooded sweatshirts. Upon opening the trunk, he found the 18 bottles of hydrocodone and the bottle of promethazine with codeine, all of which appeared to be in their original pharmacy canisters.

When neither occupant could provide a prescription or legitimate reason for possessing the drugs, both men were arrested. They were booked into the Collin County jail April 3 on two felony charges each, for possession of a controlled substance.

“We are in the process of discovering the street value of these drugs as well as determining their rightful owner,” Princeton Police Chief Jeff Barnett said. “North Texas has been plagued with pharmacy burglaries during the last year, and we are confident that these will be linked to one of those burglaries.”

Police officials said the confiscated drugs have been identified as coming from a Pilot Point pharmacy that was robbed the same night.

"Through assistance from the manufacture and the distribution center of the controlled substances, we were able to locate the final destination of the pills. The Pilot Point Police Department has been notified, and we are cooperating with their efforts to solve the burglary that occurred in their jurisdiction," Barnett said.

Milligan and Garcia were released from jail April 6 on $5,000 bond each. Garcia was also cleared of a pending traffic ticket based on his time served.

“It was great police work by our nightshift police officer,” Barnett said, “Our officer was alert to a suspicious vehicle, [and his actions] possibly captured two drug dealers and may have protected our own community pharmacy.”