Former Cook County sheriff's deputy facing drug trafficking charges

A former Cook County sheriff's deputy is being held on $1 million bail in Will County after being charged with multiple drug trafficking counts, state authorities announced Thursday.

Juan Carmona, 46, of Burr Ridge, faces up to 120 years in prison if convicted, according to Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul's office, which is handling the case alongside prosecutors from the Will County state's attorney's office.

According to court papers, federal agents uncovered Carmona's involvement in a trafficking operation that was transporting cocaine to the United States from Mexico.

In 2019, agents raided two homes owned by Carmona and recovered more than 16 kilograms of cocaine, authorities allege.

Prosecutors said Carmona admitted being part of the trafficking operation.

Officials from Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart's office said Carmona was hired as a corrections officer in 2001. He became a police officer in 2005 and "left" the agency in 2014, a spokeswoman said.

Carmona is charged with cocaine possession, criminal drug conspiracy, manufacturing and delivery of cocaine and trafficking a controlled substance.

His next court date is Dec. 10 in Will County.

Raoul's office previously charged Luis Felipe Cantu-Reyes as part of the same trafficking operation. Cantu-Reyes is facing similar charges in addition to money laundering counts. His case also is pending in Will County, according to court records.