Ex-Prison Officer Who Planted Drugs To Boost Career Pleads Guilty

A former California prison K-9 sergeant pleaded guilty Thursday to a federal wire fraud charge for orchestrating a years-long scheme in which he smuggled and planted contraband inside correctional facilities, and pretended to discover it to boost his career.

Avelino Ramirez, a 52-year-old Vallejo resident, confessed to planting drugs, weapons, and other illicit items in San Quentin State Prison and the California Medical Facility, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California said in a statement.

Federal prosecutors said Ramirez worked to portray himself as an effective K-9 officer and secure a promotion. He served as an Investigative Services Unit K-9 Officer with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation at San Quentin from 2013 to 2022.

In September 2022, he got promoted to K-9 sergeant and began working at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville in November 2022.

Ramirez, in his plea agreement, confessed to using his position from 2021 to 2024 to smuggle in items including methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, tobacco, cellphones, and drug paraphernalia in both facilities. He sometimes disguised narcotics with salt, sugar, or lawn trimmings.

Prosecutors said Ramirez also inflated his income by falsely claiming overtime tied to his staged contraband finds. The scheme earned him roughly $8,200 in fraudulent overtime pay.

Ramirez was indicted by a federal grand jury in October. He remains free on bond ahead of his sentencing, which is scheduled for Sept. 18.

Prosecutors said he faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.