Former NYPD officer, Grace Rosa Baez, has been accused and arrested for striking drug deals, including fentanyl and heroin transactions, while still in active service. The 37-year-old Bronx resident, who had been with the NYPD since 2012, faces charges of conspiring to distribute heroin and fentanyl, along with three other narcotics distribution counts, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York.
Grace Baez’s recent resignation from the police force was confirmed by a department spokesperson. Her roommate, Cesar Martinez, 43, from Yonkers, faces similar charges.
Prosecutors unveiled details suggesting Baez and Martinez had engaged in several conversations with an undercover informant regarding drug deals. In one such instance on Oct. 11, Baez reportedly proposed a deal to the informant, offering to sell 2 kilograms of fentanyl for $30,000 each kilogram, with an added 400 grams of heroin to be priced later.
Surprisingly, during a subsequent exchange, Baez provided the informant with a candy container claimed to contain fentanyl. However, tests revealed it was heroin.
After her arrest, a scene ensued at the apartment she shared with Martinez, with officials spotting suspected narcotics being discarded from their residence. A search inside revealed a kilogram press machine and additional suspected narcotics that seemed to be in the process of being disposed of.
According to a report by The New York Post, Prosecutors further allege that Baez was not shy about negotiating these illicit deals even while on duty. U.S. Attorney Damian Williams expressed his disappointment, stating Baez had forsaken her oath to protect New York City’s residents. Instead, she was involved in circulating substances like fentanyl and heroin, which are at the epicenter of the nation’s opioid epidemic, causing countless deaths.
Baez had previously come under the NYPD’s radar for alleged misconduct in 2020, which resulted in her being reassigned to a modified duty. Prior to her resignation, she was working a modified desk job.