MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) - A prosecutor along Florida's Space Coast has been fired after deputies arrested him on drug charges.
State Attorney Phil Archer's office announced that assistant state attorney John Toppa was fired Thursday morning.
The arrest came a day after the 29-year-old Toppa was arrested for purchasing $200 worth of pills of Roxicodone, a pain reliever. A police report says Toppa made the purchase in the parking lot of a Lowe's store in Rockledge. He is charged with five counts of possessing a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Archer is asking the governor to appoint an outside prosecutor to handle the case.
Toppa was hired in 2013.
Online court records showed no attorney listed for Toppa.
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