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.
Grace Rosa Baez, 37, who was jailed along with Cesar Martinez, 42, was charged with conspiracy to distribute narcotics and narcotics, explained Damian Williams, United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Baez and Martinez allegedly tried to sell narcotics to a federal informant between Oct. 9 and Oct. 19, according to an indictment filed March 20 in federal court in Manhattan.
Baez and Martinez pleaded not guilty this week.
The Dominican-born woman allegedly told the informant that the Mentos candy container contained “high-grade” fentanyl, authorities said.
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.
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