NYPD Officer Convicted Of Drug Trafficking And Firearms Offenses In Manhattan Federal Court

Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced that YESSENIA JIMENEZ, an officer in the New York City Police Department (“NYPD”), was found guilty today of conspiring to distribute heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine, possession of heroin and fentanyl, and using a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking.  A unanimous jury convicted JIMENEZ on all three counts after a one-week trial before United States District Judge Valerie E. Caproni. 

U.S. Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman said:  “As proven at trial, Yessenia Jimenez, an NYPD officer, trafficked heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine in New York City, a city she took an oath to serve and protect, and used her NYPD service firearm to carry out her drug dealing.  Simply put, Jimenez was a drug dealer in a cop’s uniform.  Thankfully, Jimenez now stands convicted and faces at least 15 years in prison.”

According to court documents and the evidence at trial:

This case arises from a Drug Enforcement Administration (“DEA”) investigation into a large-scale narcotics trafficking operation that brought heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine across the border from Mexico into the United States, and then into New York City.  From at least June 2017 through March 2018, JIMENEZ, an NYPD officer, participated in the conspiracy.  JIMENEZ used her apartment in the Bronx, New York, to store multiple kilograms of heroin, fentanyl, and cocaine that were brought into the city by other members of the conspiracy.  Along with other co-conspirators, JIMENEZ distributed these drugs in New York and also in the Boston area.  Over the course of the conspiracy, she collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in drug profits, which she also stored in her apartment, and delivered large amounts of cash to other co-conspirators to bring back to drug suppliers in Mexico.  On March 13, 2018, the DEA and NYPD apprehended JIMENEZ and a co-conspirator as they returned to her apartment carrying approximately $52,000 in U.S. currency, which represented the proceeds from narcotics transactions in Boston.  JIMENEZ, who was not in uniform and was off duty, was carrying her loaded NYPD service firearm in her purse, alongside approximately $25,000 of the drug proceeds.  At the time of her arrest, JIMENEZ lied to law enforcement, telling them she was “on the job,” meaning on official NYPD business at the time.  Following the arrest, law enforcement agents obtained a search warrant for JIMENEZ’s apartment and discovered approximately 250 grams of heroin and fentanyl.

*                      *                     *

JIMENEZ, 32, of the Bronx, New York, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to distribute at least one kilogram of heroin and fentanyl, and at least five kilograms of cocaine, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in prison, one count of possession of at least 100 grams of heroin and fentanyl with intent to distribute, which carries a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, and one count of using a firearm in furtherance of narcotics trafficking, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison and a consecutive mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison.  The maximum potential sentences are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the judge. 

Mr. Berman praised the investigative work of the DEA, NYPD, and New York State Police in this investigation.

This case is being handled by the Office’s Narcotics Unit.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Thane Rehn and Louis Pellegrino are in charge of the prosecution.