Grace Rosa Bays
NEW YORK.- A former New York Police Department officer arrested in October for selling heroin and fentanyl while on duty has been formally charged.
Identified as Grace Rosa Baez, 37, who was jailed along with Cesar Martinez, 42, was charged with distribution of narcotics and conspiracy to distribute narcotics, explained Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
The two allegedly attempted to sell narcotics to a federal informant between Oct. 9 and 19, according to an indictment filed March 20 in Manhattan federal court.
Pleads not guilty
Baez and Martinez pleaded not guilty this week.
Authorities said the Dominican-born woman allegedly told the informant there was “high-grade” fentanyl in a Mentos candy container.
He later told the informant that he could sell them a kilo of heroin for $25,000 and 800 grams of fentanyl, an amount that would later be determined based on the drug’s purity.
Police since 2012
According to court documents, Baez, who has been a police officer since 2012, allegedly met with the informant numerous times.
The former officer, who was once proud of his affiliation with the New York police force, resigned from the NYPD after the arrest.
Báez is currently under house arrest with an electronic monitoring device.
For his part, Martinez has been jailed without bail, according to court documents.
:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/infobae/UCHXDFZR5FCDDFHSXOTO22L4S4.jpg "Florida’s governor signs a law that prevents homeless people from sleeping in public places")
