Former officer convicted on drug charges
A federal jury in Brownsville found a former reserve officer for the Nueces County constable’s office guilty of transporting cocaine and heroin across the Gateway International Bridge, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced Friday.
The jury deliberated for about 30 minutes after one day of trial and convicted Mercedes Perez, 54, on conspiracy and possession charges.
A Customs and Border Protection officer stopped Perez on the bridge Oct. 29, 2011. A drug-sniffing dog alerted the officer to packages of cocaine and heroin concealed inside the car, court documents show.
The narcotics totaled about 15 pounds of cocaine and 5 pounds of heroin, the documents indicate.
Perez had told officers he was in Matamoros for dental work, according to the documents.
He testified at trial that he was unaware the drugs were in his car.
Records indicated Perez had crossed the border about 35 times since August of 2010, documents say.
U.S. District Judge Hilda G. Tagle presided over the trial.
Perez will be sentenced in May and faces a minimum of 10 years or up to life in a federal prison.
