SAN FRANCISCO – A former state correctional officer pleaded responsible Thursday to at least one depend of wire fraud in reference to a plot to plant contraband he then pretended to find, prosecutors mentioned.
Avelino Ramirez, 52, of Vallejo, faces as much as 20 years in federal jail and a $250,000 superb when he’s sentenced on Sept. 18, in accordance with the U.S. Legal professional’s Workplace.
Ramirez labored as a California Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation Okay-9 officer at San Quentin State Jail from 2013 till September 2022, when he was promoted to sergeant. Two months later, he took a job on the California Medical Facility in Vacaville.
From October 2021 to February 2024, Ramirez engaged in a scheme to smuggle after which plant contraband in frequent areas of the jail and medical facility, prosecutors mentioned. The illicit objects included marijuana, cocaine, cell telephones and weapons.
In line with prosecutors, he typically blended the medication he planted within the jail with salt or sugar and garden trimmings.
Ramirez pretended to find the contraband, prosecutors mentioned, including that in doing so, he hoped to carry himself out as a profitable officer and win a promotion.
He additionally tried to inflate his wage by claiming extra time associated to searches the place the illicit objects have been seized and writing experiences concerning the discoveries, in accordance with prosecutors.
In whole, Ramirez fraudulently obtained about $8,200 in extra time pay, prosecutors mentioned.
A federal grand jury indicted Ramirez on Oct. 31, 2024. He’s at the moment out on bond.
