Feds: Houston officer agreed to escort drug loads

Former Houston Police officer Marcos.E. Carrion resigned in February 2014 after five years with the department. He was indicted Friday by federal authorities for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine. less Former Houston Police officer Marcos.E. Carrion resigned in February 2014 after five years with the department. He was indicted Friday by federal authorities for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to ... more Photo: HPD Photo: HPD Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Feds: Houston officer agreed to escort drug loads 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

Federal authorities contend a Houston police officer agreed to use his badge to protect loads of cocaine in a federal case in which a witness has already been shot.

Marcos Carrion, who quit the police force in February after five years on the job, surrendered Wednesday to face charges of his alleged role in a conspiracy to distribute the drugs.

Carrion, 36, was in shackles and handcuffs during a hearing at the federal courthouse as a prosecutor described the charges against him and concerns about the shooting.

"It is alleged Mr. Carrion agreed to provide a police escort during multiple drug deliveries," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Donnelly.

Donnelly asked that U.S. Magistrate Judge George Hanks Jr. require Carrion to wear a GPS monitor while released on bail due to the shooting as well as the chance Carrion could try to flee. "There was a witness who was shot," Donnelly said.

Conspiracy alleged

Following the hearing, he declined to reveal any details of the shooting, including when and how it happened, other than to say it was in Harris County and that the witness was not killed and Carrion was not a suspect.

The federal indictment unsealed Wednesday accuses Carrion of being involved in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine "from on or about mid-2013 to the date of this indictment."

Although the indictment contends Carrion was involved in a conspiracy that lasted more than a year, no one else has been charged so far.

Hanks ordered that Carrion wear a GPS monitor while he's free on bail pending an outcome of the case. The judge also said Carrior could not have a gun, drink in excess or leave Harris County and adjacent counties without permission.

Houston police declined to comment on Carrion, other than to release his photo and confirm he served from March 2009 until February of this year, and was assigned to the Gessner patrol station.

The case marks at least the third Houston police officer in the past 15 months to be charged federally for alleged roles in conspiracies to escort loads of cocaine.

Emerson Canizales, who was charged in 2013, was recently sent to prison. His academy classmate, Michael Miceli, still awaits sentencing.

They were snared in a sting in which they used a HPD cruiser to escort what they thought was a load of cocaine hidden in a car being pulled by a tow truck.

In the most recent case, Carrion appeared in court wearing dark slacks and a white button-down dress shirt. He was accompanied by two attorneys, Jeffery Greco and Dustan Neyland.

Says he's innocent

"He maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court," Greco, a former Harris County prosecutor, said of the drug indictment.

"He absolutely unequivocally had nothing to do with that shooting and U.S. Attorney's Office knows that," he said. "The GPS monitoring is merely a precaution to see that they can keep tabs on defendants in cases like this."

Larry Karson, an assistant professor of criminal justice at the University of Houston Downtown, said that the arrests of officers for alleged corruption stings others in the ranks.

"I suspect that the closer an officer is to one indicted for a serious violent or drug-related offense, the more their response may tend to mirror the emotional roller coaster of the grief process one goes through with a death of a close friend," he said.

"For some, there is an initial shock followed by confusion and denial," he continued. "Then may come a period of anger towards anyone so close who would tarnish the very badge you and so many others wear with pride and honor."