Martin Gomez, Smuggling Contraband, California 2019

A California state prison inmate was sentenced to 20 years in prison for leading a conspiracy to smuggle drugs and cell phones into a state prison.

Martin Gomez, a former inmate at Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, was sentenced in federal court on September 23, 2019 to 240 months in prison for his role in the contraband smuggling scheme.

Gomez, 40, of California, pleaded guilty to Conspiracy to Distribute Methamphetamine pursuant to a plea agreement. He was one of 11 co-conspirators indicted in the case.

Gomez directed a group of at least 11 other participants to smuggle contraband, including over 500 grams of methamphetamine, heroin, and cell phones, into the prison. He arranged for the contraband to be delivered to a Corrections Officer, Anibal Navarro, who was paid between $1,000 and $2,000 each time he smuggled the contraband into the prison.

Gomez was able to continue coordinating the operation while incarcerated at another prison, using conference calls with associates outside the prison to arrange for narcotics and cellular telephones to be delivered to Navarro at various locations in Southern California.

The smuggling operation was also aided by others outside the prison, including Sylvia Gonzales, Everaldo Santana, Norma Alvarado-Medina, and Vanessa Jackson. These individuals provided Navarro with the narcotics and cellular telephones to smuggle into the prison.

RJD inmates Agustin Aceves, Juan Gutierrez, John Price, Jeremy Gaither, and Hugo Alvarado received and distributed the narcotics and cellular telephones to other inmates. The phones were used to coordinate criminal activity both inside and outside the facility.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/inmate-sentenced-20-years-distributing-drugs-and-cell-phones-state-prison-bribing