NEW ORLEANS – Houston Police Officer Noe Juarez, 46, and Mexican citizen Sergio Grimaldo, 32, were charged with conspiracy to distribute 10 pounds or more of cocaine, federal officials in New Orleans announced Wednesday.
Juarez is additionally charged with conspiracy to possess firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. The Superseding Indictment was returned on April 2, 2015 and recently unsealed. This Superseding Indictment is a product of an ongoing investigation. Both defendants are presently in custody.
According to news reports, Juarez was the Houston police union’s 2009 Officer of the Year.
If convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine, each defendant faces a sentence of ten years to life in prison.
Juarez faces up to twenty years behind bars.
The defendants are innocent until proven guilty.