Miguel Angel Aleman-Piceno, Attempting to Introduce Contraband into Federal Prison, West Virginia 2024
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – A Chicago man has pleaded guilty to a role in a scheme to transport contraband into FCI McDowell using a drone, according to court documents and statements made in court.
Miguel Angel Aleman-Piceno, 22, of Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit the felony crime of attempting to introduce contraband into a federal prison. Aleman-Piceno and co-defendants Francisco Alejandro Gonzalez and Arturo Joel Gallegos were caught by law enforcement as they prepared to launch a drone onto the grounds of FCI McDowell on February 1, 2024.
Aleman-Piceno admitted to traveling to McDowell County, West Virginia, from Chicago with Gonzalez and Gallegos, believing that he would be paid $3,000 to deliver the packages into the prison by drone. The packages contained four cell phones, chargers, phone cards, marijuana, and tobacco.
The indictment against Gonzalez, 24, and Gallegos, 26, both of Chicago, remains pending. An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
Aleman-Piceno is scheduled to be sentenced on September 8, 2025, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, up to three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Brian D. Parsons. The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office are also involved in the investigation.
Gamalier Rivera, 33, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Hector Luis Gomez DeJesus, 32, of Sanford, North Carolina, as well as Raymond Luis Saez Aviles, 37, of Poinciana, Florida, each pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the introduction of contraband into a federal prison in a separate indictment.
Key Facts
- State: West Virginia
- Category: Drug Trafficking|Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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