Grapevine, Texas March 24, 2016
You Give Permission for Your 15 and 16 Year Old Girls to go on a Volleyball Tournament Trip with Their Coach and Then You Find Out!
When one entrusts their child’s safety and care in sports to an Adult Coach ,with a daughter of the same age, of course there is an expectation that the child will have a great learning experience. However, in February 2015, a local Volleyball Coach picked up 4 minors (15-16) in a rented Suburban and took off for Colorado to play in a USA Volleyball Tournament in Denver.
The trip to Colorado became particularly treacherous when the weather turned and the roads iced over. Of course, parents worried but the group arrived safely in Denver. It was only later that parents learned how fortunate they were to have their daughters return with no outward injuries. The bizarre story began to unfold when Coach Damian Merrick announced the group needed to leave a day early for the Tournament because they had to “register early.” The other coach, a Teacher at Sam Tasby Middle School in Dallas, could not leave the same day, so he flew the next day to meet the group.
It was learned much later that while driving the Suburban over icy roads that Merrick was using marijuana and providing and encouraging the minors to get high on marijuana along the way.
After learning about the circumstances surrounding the trip a Police Investigator told one parent, “you are lucky your daughter returned home alive.” Reports now show that besides Merrick initially bringing Marijuana on the trip, that he stopped on the road trip to make more drug purchases when he reached Colorado at a marijuana dispensary.
The second adult Coach Daniel Dwyer, resume below, was suspended by the USA Volleyball group in March 2015 for making inappropriate texts to minor girls. Mr. Dwyer would not return emails or phone calls to answer questions about the February 15, 2015 incident. However, Dwyer was present during the Colorado escapades and is also suspected of being complicit in the illegal activities that took place in Colorado. In fact, LNO has obtained a copy of a Denver Police Department report originating from the “Marijuana 90 Team” that has been investigating the activities in their area. The investigation conclusion, “revealed parties Damian Merrick and Daniel Dwyer might have been involved in providing marijuana to several underage females during a volleyball tournament.”
In fact, the Aurora County Police Department also has an open case on Merrick for activities in their area during the same time period.
In fact, Dwyer, has numerous Volleyball coaching positions on his resume below and he apparently is still teaching and Coaching Middle School Children.
Previous LNO articles on Merrick can be seen on the following links, or put Damian Merrick in to the site’s Search Engine (Before May 2015 for best results): Warrants for Merrick Arrest , Three Additional Felony Warrants, Violation of GPS.
