Richard Steven Alberts II, Smuggling Drugs, Oregon 2021

Sherwood Corrections Officer Pleads Guilty to Smuggling Drugs into Coffee Creek Women's Prison

PORTLAND, Ore.—A Sherwood, Oregon man pleaded guilty today for smuggling drugs into the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, announced U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams.

Richard Steven Alberts II, 32, pleaded guilty to the charge of Conspiracy to Distribute Controlled Substances, in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§841(a)(1), 841 (b)(1)(C), and 846. He will be sentenced on February 22, 2021 by the Honorable Michael H. Simon.

According to court records, in 2019, Alberts was a Correctional Officer at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, a women’s prison in Wilsonville, operated by the Oregon Department of Corrections. While employed there, defendant began an inappropriate and illegal sexual relationship with an inmate.

To foster the relationship, Alberts agreed to smuggle drugs, including OxyContin pills, methamphetamine, and heroin into the prison and to provide them to the inmate. In addition, Alberts smuggled multiple cell phones into the facility that the inmate used to communicate with Alberts and others outside the prison. Defendant knew that the smuggled methamphetamine and heroin were not for the inmate’s personal use, but, instead, were intended for distribution to other women incarcerated at Coffee Creek.

Richard Steven Alberts II faces a maximum sentence of 20 years of imprisonment, three years of supervised release and a fine of $1,000,000. As part of the plea agreement, defendant agreed to immediately resign from the Oregon Department of Corrections, where he is currently on unpaid administrative leave. Defendant also agreed

“This corrections officer selfishly abused his position of trust and in doing so, endangered the lives of vulnerable inmates fighting for their own sobriety” said United States Attorney Billy J. Williams. “Instead of protecting the inmates, he exploited them. The excellent investigative work of the Oregon Department of Corrections, the Oregon State Police, and the FBI now ensures that a man who once guarded inmates will become one himself.”

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/sherwood-corrections-officer-pleads-guilty-smuggling-drugs-coffee-creek-womens-prison