Allegedly sold drugs out of a hotel room; organization head says
parents complained about the coach
By Rachelle Gines Staff Writer
Gilroy – The head of a San Jose softball organization “felt betrayed” when he learned that one of his former coaches, Gilroy resident Lino De La Cruz, was arrested on suspicion of possession of methamphetamine for sale in June.
Ernie Garcia, head of the San Jose Strikkers softball travel-team, said he was unaware that De La Cruz, a former Gilroy Strikkers softball coach, was associated with drugs.
“I feel bad,” Garcia said Friday afternoon. “I had no idea whatsoever that he was associated with drugs, or I never would have let him coach.”
De La Cruz and his wife Sonya were both charged with felony possession of a controlled substance for sale. Their court date is set for 9am Tuesday, at the San Martin Superior Court.
Unified Narcotics Enforcement Team agents arrested the 39-year-old De La Cruz and his wife, Sonya, in June after receiving complaints that the couple was selling marijuana and methamphetamine out of a Comfort Inn hotel room in Gilroy.
Garcia said his main concern is for his players, and after dealing with De La Cruz, he is taking no chances with their safety.
“I’ve learned my lesson,” he said. “I will have background checks conducted on new coaches immediately, and I will absorb the cost myself.”
Since the Strikkers are an independent traveling team, Garcia explained that no specific sanctions or policies governed screening processes at the time he first met De La Cruz in March of 2005.
“He was great,” Garcia said. “The parents and kids liked him.”
De La Cruz began coaching the Strikkers age 14-and-under division team. At first, Garcia said the kids in particular really looked up to their new coach. However, parents complained that he was always late to practices, and Garcia said that De La Cruz failed to show up for an entire week of practice in 2005.
“I believed his problems were 100 percent personal,” he said. “I never thought they were drug-related.”
Garcia dismissed De La Cruz more than once before finally dismissing him for good last month.
“He was a nice guy,” Garcia said, “I wanted to give him a chance. But it was the same problems over and over again.”
While in Colorado during the last part of June for a softball tournament, Garcia finally learned of De La Cruz’s connection to drugs.
“A parent from Gilroy called and first told me she was sorry to mess up my weekend,” he said. “Then she told me what she heard about De La Cruz.”
Garcia emphasized how distraught he was over the situation, saying that the Strikkers is a non-profit sports organization dedicated to it’s members. The organization is composed of five different teams based on age divisions.
“One of the main points of the Strikkers is to get scholarships for the girls,” Garcia said. “Everything we do is for them.”
According to the official Strikkers Web site, players from the 2006 team have gone on to Pennsylvania State University and Princeton University.
In mid-June, agents raided the couple’s hotel room and found $2,000 worth of methamphetamine and nearly an ounce of marijuana, said UNET Comdr. Mark Colla. A scale and plastic bags commonly used to package and sell drugs were also found.
Lino De La Cruz was away from the hotel when agents got permission to search the room from Sonya De La Cruz, Colla said. She was arrested after the search and taken to the Santa Clara County Jail.
Five days later, Lino De La Cruz was arrested after being spotted by a park ranger at a Coyote Lake campground, Colla said. Both were jailed on charges of possession of a controlled substance for sale, a felony.
“The fact that he was involved with kids concerned us,” Colla said. “We want people to be aware.”
Colla said that Lino De La Cruz was probably a “mid-level” dealer because they found nearly two ounces of methamphetamine in the couples’ hotel room. “Street-level” dealers, he said, typically deal in grams.
A source formerly close to Garcia said she feels badly for him.
“He was a good guy, who tried to clean up his past. He went to church for awhile. I just don’t know what happened.”
