BLUEFIELD, WV (LOOTPRESS) – An Illinois man has been sentenced for his role in a scheme to use a drone to smuggle contraband into the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) McDowell.
Miguel Angel Aleman-Piceno, 23, of Chicago, was sentenced Monday to three years of federal probation after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit the felony crime of attempting to introduce contraband into a federal prison.
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Court documents show that on February 1, 2024, Aleman-Piceno and co-defendant Francisco Alejandro Gonzalez carried a drone and two camouflaged packages containing cell phones, chargers, phone cards, marijuana, and tobacco to the fence surrounding the prison.
Authorities said the men intended to fly the packages into the facility when they were stopped by law enforcement.
Aleman-Piceno admitted he traveled from Chicago to McDowell County with Gonzalez and a third co-defendant, Arturo Joel Gallegos, expecting to be paid $3,000 for the delivery. The group stayed at a local motel, where investigators later seized additional contraband and packaging materials.
Gonzalez, 24, pleaded guilty in July and is scheduled to be sentenced November 3. Gallegos, 26, pleaded guilty in August and will be sentenced December 8.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston commended the FBI, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case. Senior U.S. District Judge David A. Faber handed down the sentence, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian D. Parsons prosecuted.
