BLUEFIELD, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Two men have been sentenced and a third has pleaded guilty in separate cases involving the use of drones to smuggle contraband into the Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) McDowell.
On Tuesday, Hector Luis Gomez DeJesus, 32, of Sanford, North Carolina, and Raymond Luis Saez Aviles, 37, of Poinciana, Florida, were each sentenced to three years of probation, including two months of home detention, for aiding and abetting the introduction of contraband into a federal prison.
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Court records show that on February 9, 2024, correctional officers at FCI McDowell detected a drone flying over the prison and tracked it to a housing unit.
Inside a cell, officers discovered a broken window, along with marijuana, tobacco, and multiple cell phones. The drone’s flight path led investigators to a launch site nearby, where officers apprehended DeJesus, Aviles, and Gamalier Rivera, 34, of Allentown, Pennsylvania. Authorities also seized the drone, its controller, and additional contraband.
Rivera pleaded guilty in March and was sentenced in July to three years of probation, also including two months of home detention. Prosecutors said the men admitted to transporting the items into the prison by drone in exchange for payment.
In a separate case, Arturo Joel Gallegos, 26, of Chicago, Illinois, pleaded guilty Wednesday to conspiracy to introduce contraband into a federal prison. Prosecutors said that on February 1, 2024, Gallegos traveled to Welch, West Virginia, with two other Chicago men, Miguel Angel Aleman-Piceno, 23, and Francisco Alejandro Gonzalez, 24.
Later that day, officers caught Aleman-Piceno and Gonzalez with a drone and camouflaged packages containing tobacco, marijuana, and cell phones near the prison fence. Investigators later found Gallegos at a Welch motel with packaging materials, marijuana, and tobacco.
As part of his plea, Gallegos admitted to conspiring with the men to fly contraband onto prison grounds and said he expected to be paid. He faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine at his sentencing scheduled for December 8.
Aleman-Piceno pleaded guilty in June, and Gonzalez entered his plea in July. Both face sentencing later this year.
Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston praised the work of the FBI, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office in the investigations. Senior U.S. District Judge David A. Faber presided over the hearings, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian D. Parsons prosecuted the cases.
