A Carlsbad man who had worked as a girls' water polo coach at La Costa Canyon High School was placed on three years' probation yesterday and ordered to complete 30 days of public work service for drug crimes.
Steven Pierce Moyer, 43, pleaded guilty Sept. 11 to possession and transportation of the psychedelic drug Ecstasy. Through a plea deal, other charges, including possession of cocaine for sale, were dropped.
If he violates the terms of his probation, Moyer could be sent to jail for a year. He asked San Diego Superior Court Judge David Danielsen for leniency, saying he had sought treatment for his drug problems and was beginning to rebuild his life.
Moyer said he turned to drugs in the past as a reaction to pain he had experienced in life. “I chose to soothe that pain with illegal substances, and that was wrong,” he said.
Agents with the Drug Enforcement Administration testified during a hearing in July that they first learned about Moyer's drug involvement during a wiretap investigation targeting another drug dealer.
According to the testimony, Moyer left a voice-mail message for the other man in February placing an order for drugs. Moyer indicated that he needed the drugs before a party he was hosting a few days later.
On Feb. 23, agents observed a brief meeting between the two men in a grocery store parking lot on Santa Fe Drive near Interstate 5 in Encinitas. The agents called the Carlsbad Police Department and asked its officers to stop Moyer, who had left the parking lot in a white Ford Mustang and driven north on the freeway.
A Carlsbad police sergeant stopped Moyer, searched his vehicle and found small plastic bags, which forensic tests later confirmed contained cocaine and Ecstasy.
Moyer was released pending the conclusion of the wiretap investigation. He was arrested at his home May 31.
La Costa Canyon High officials said Moyer was not a full-time employee, but a walk-on coach for the girls' water polo team during the winter season.
Dana Littlefield: (619) 542-4590; dana.littlefield@uniontrib.com
