Suspected drug dealer brings child to hospital with overdose. Now he faces charges in federal court.

A Burlington County man was charged with drug and weapons offenses after he took a child who had overdosed to a local hospital earlier this year, authorities said.

The investigation began on June 23, when 27-year-old Daniel Garcia Jr. of Maple Shade and another person who was not identified took the child to the hospital, officials said. Shortly after Garcia fed the child, he stopped breathing, according to a statement from the New Jersey District Attorney's Office.

The minor was treated at the hospital and later flown to a children's hospital for further treatment. Drug tests came back positive for benzodiazepines, fentanyl and cocaine, the office said.

Doctors at the children's hospital told police the child was given benzodiazepines and fentanyl during treatment, but not cocaine, investigators said. A doctor also told them the minor's symptoms, including seizure, cardiac arrest and abnormal heart rhythm, were all symptoms of a cocaine overdose.

The child, whose age was not disclosed, survived and was later released from the children's hospital, a criminal complaint said.

On June 24, police executed a search warrant at the Garcias' home and found cash, drug packaging materials and an envelope containing 9mm and .357 Magnum ammunition, the statement said.

The next day, officers searched a car Garcia had previously driven and found a laundry bag containing $150,000 cash, 329.1 grams of methamphetamine, 767 grams of cocaine, 41 amphetamine tablets, 102 alprazolam tablets, 272 oxycodone tablets, 2.6 grams of MDMA powder, 1,341 grams of marijuana, 9.9 grams of psilocin and psilocybin mushrooms and 192 grams of crystalline cutting agents commonly used to make drugs, federal prosecutors said. They also said they found three digital scales, drug packaging materials, two 9mm pistols and a .357 Magnum revolver. The three guns were all loaded.

Investigators reviewed surveillance video from the apartment complex that showed Garcia returning to the apartment after leaving the hospital and placing the laundry bag in the trunk of his car, authorities said.

He was recently charged with possession of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine with the intent to resell and possession of firearms by a convicted felon, officials said.

The second count was based on the fact that Garcia is a convicted felon who is prohibited from possessing firearms or ammunition after pleading guilty in Camden County Superior Court to drug and firearm offenses, the lawsuit states. On March 8, 2019, he was sentenced to five years in prison for those crimes.