TITUSVILLE, Fla. – Two Titusville police officers are off the job, accused of buying drugs from a confidential informant who later turned them in.
In a picture from the Titusville Police Department's Facebook page, Officers Samuel Alicea and Darren Zbiegien are smiling and being sworn in.
Less than a year later, the two are off the job -- accused of buying drugs from a confidential informant who later reported them to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, according to an internal affairs report obtained by News 6.
The source told investigators he met with the two officers at the Gold Lion bar in Titusville last July.
"Alicea and Zbiegien were looking to obtain some "white girl" (slang for cocaine) and some females who would be willing to party," according to the report.
"Zbiegien bought 12 bags at $20 a bag and the bags were approximately a half gram each of powder cocaine," according to the report.
The source told investigators the group then went to an apartment at the Camelot Estates, a housing complex not far from the bar, adding that they "were all up until noon the next day."
The source told investigators he sold drugs to Zbiegien on several other occasions.
After the informant notified law enforcement, FDLE tried to catch the officer in the act, but according to the report, "Zbiegien was unwilling to go out and meet and the operation was terminated."
The next day the officers were told they were under formal investigation, being placed on administrative leave and needed to have a "drug screen." Both officers eventually resigned.
The department changed its processes "to minimize the possibility of this happening again," Titusville police Chief John Lau said.
News 6 asked the state attorney's office if the allegations will have any effect on cases where the two officers made arrests, particularly any drug cases. They did not respond in time for this story.