Ex-Houston Police Department officer sentenced in connection with armored car robbery

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A former police officer has been ordered to federal prison for his conviction of lying to investigators in relation to an armored car robbery that occurred in Houston in 2013, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.

Joel Quezada, 33, of Humble, pleaded guilty Jan. 11, 2016.

Today, U.S. District Judge Vanessa Gilmore, who accepted the guilty plea, ordered he serve 48 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release.

At the time of his guilty plea, Quezada admitted he lied to investigators about accepting cash for monitoring his police radio during an armored car robbery that occurred on Dec. 6, 2013. At the time of the robbery, he was a full-time patrol officer with the Houston Police Department (HPD).

Quezada no longer works at HPD.

He was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Four others were charged in a separate case with the actual robbery of the Loomis armored car. They have all been convicted and are pending sentencing before U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison in August 2016.

The investigation leading to the charges against Quezada was conducted by the FBI and HPD - Internal Affairs Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew Leuchtmann and Carolyn Ferko are prosecuting the case.