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Riverside County priest pleads guilty to selling, possessing drugs
January 4, 2010 | 5:25 pm
A defrocked Roman Catholic priest who operated his own church in Riverside County pleaded guilty today to possessing illegal drugs, authorities said.
Anthony Martinez Garduno, 51, a self-proclaimed Catholic bishop, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug count and four felony drug counts, including possession of the “date-rape” narcotic GHB, authorities said.
Garduno also pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen .32-caliber semiautomatic handgun.
Garduno was arrested Dec. 29 after detectives determined he was selling methamphetamine and was in possession of other drugs at his Our Lady of Tepeyac Church, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.
Detectives are investigating allegations that Garduno sexually assaulted underage males at the church, the department said.
Garduno was tried by the Roman Catholic Church for heresy and defrocked in 1993, said John Andrews, a spokesman for the Diocese of San Bernardino.
“He has no official relationship to the Roman Catholic Church,” Andrews said.
Full Article]
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January 4, 2010 | 5:25 pm
A defrocked Roman Catholic priest who operated his own church in Riverside County pleaded guilty today to possessing illegal drugs, authorities said.
Anthony Martinez Garduno, 51, a self-proclaimed Catholic bishop, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor drug count and four felony drug counts, including possession of the “date-rape” narcotic GHB, authorities said.
Garduno also pleaded guilty to possessing a stolen .32-caliber semiautomatic handgun.
Garduno was arrested Dec. 29 after detectives determined he was selling methamphetamine and was in possession of other drugs at his Our Lady of Tepeyac Church, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.
Detectives are investigating allegations that Garduno sexually assaulted underage males at the church, the department said.
Garduno was tried by the Roman Catholic Church for heresy and defrocked in 1993, said John Andrews, a spokesman for the Diocese of San Bernardino.
“He has no official relationship to the Roman Catholic Church,” Andrews said.
Full Article]
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