South Florida coach arrested, fired for dealing cocaine

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. (WSVN) -- A South Florida football coach has been fired after police arrest him for dealing narcotics from his apartment.

Police have charged Chris Summerlott with drug paraphernalia and trafficking cocaine from his apartment, which is located right across the street from the Coral Springs Police Department. "It's actually a sad situation. The gentleman is a Coral Springs Tackle Football coach here in the City of Coral Springs, and obviously, we did receive a tip that he was dealing narcotics," said Coral Springs Police Sergeant Joe McHugh, "so we took that tip very serious because he does deal with kids every single day."

One neighbor said he had a feeling some illegal activity was going on in Summerlott's apartment. "We grew suspicious. Finally, when police broke in, we realized, 'Yeah, we were right,'" said Sean Woods.

Police confiscated several items from Summerlott's residence. "We found a scale, as well as baggies, as well as narcotics inside the apartment," said McHugh.

The Coral Springs Tackle Football League released a statement that said: "Prior to his arrest, Mr. Summerlott had coached with our program for more than 10 years and had passed an annual criminal background check," said Donn Grushka, CSTFL Board member. "We immediately terminated him as a coach in our program."

One of Summerlott's players is upset by the ordeal. "I'm sad that he's gone. He was a really good coach," said Dominic Ruiz.

Summerlott has bonded out of jail and is awaiting trial.

(Copyright 2008 by Sunbeam Television Corp. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)