Two Houston police accused of helping smuggle cocaine

Emerson Canizales, 26, of Kingwood, leaves the federal courthouse Monday after he and Michael Miceli appeared at a brief hearing. Emerson Canizales, 26, of Kingwood, leaves the federal courthouse Monday after he and Michael Miceli appeared at a brief hearing. Photo: Mayra Beltran, Staff Photo: Mayra Beltran, Staff Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Two Houston police accused of helping smuggle cocaine 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Two Houston police officers are facing life in prison without the possibility of parole after allegations they accepted $2,000 in bribes to protect a stash of cocaine being smuggled through the city.

Emerson Canizales, 26, of Kingwood, and Michael Miceli, 26, of Humble, who are accused of taking $1,000 each, were quietly arrested with the help of a Houston Police SWAT team over the weekend as they reported for duty.

The Houston Police Department officers, who graduated from the same police academy class in 2010, stood side by side before a federal magistrate Monday during a brief hearing in which they were read their rights and advised of the charges rooted in a drug distribution conspiracy.

In contrast to other prisoners who wore familiar orange jumpsuits, Canizales and Miceli appeared in court in matching dark blue pants and black T-shirts and kept their arms behind their backs.

Sources, who did not wish to be identified because they were not authorized to talk, said the officers used an HPD patrol car to escort the load as it was moved from one side of the city to the other. The thinking was that if the drug trafficker was pulled over by other police, they could intervene.

Authorities declined to say exactly what led to the officers' arrests or how they were caught. But a prepared statement from Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland indicated they were snared in a sting operation.

"We have been working cooperatively with federal authorities on this investigation," McClelland said. "And are proud that our internal proactive measures have proven effective in addressing these types of allegations."

Released on bond

U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Milloy ordered the officers released on a $50,000 bond and told them they would face additional charges if they didn't obey the conditions for their release.

Among the rules: They can't have contact with each other or anyone else connected to the case, and they can't have any guns.

"You are to have no weapons, no firearms, no rifles, no pistols, no AR-15s," Milloy said.

She rejected the prosecution's request that the men wear electronic monitors and be confined to their homes.

One of Miceli's two attorneys, Guy Womack, said he hopes his client has been wrongfully accused. "All the officers we've talked to are shocked he got caught up in something like this," Womack said. "He's an outstanding human being. His wife is a schoolteacher and they have three kids and are two months shy of a fourth."

After the hearing, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim McAlister said he supported their release.

"We release most officers if they are not a threat (to the community) and these guys are not a threat," he said.

An indictment unsealed Monday alleges that during a conspiracy that lasted from October 2012 to December, the officers were paid to protect a vehicle they thought was carrying cocaine.

Their personnel files, including disciplinary history, were not available Monday.

Internal investigation

Canizales and Miceli have been relieved of duty but will remain on the city's payroll pending an outcome of an internal-affairs investigation, according to the HPD.

"We will never tolerate criminal misconduct from any of our employees," McClelland said.

Other recent cases of a local law enforcement officers being charged in a drug case include that of former Harris County sheriff's Deputy Richard Nutt Jr., who is scheduled to be sentenced next month after pleading guilty to charges of stealing loads from drug traffickers.

Earlier this month, Tomas Roque, a reserve Harris County deputy, was arrested and charged with aiding drug traffickers, and two other Houston police officers - German Ramos and Kendrick Ferguson - were charged late last year with stealing from drug traffickers.