A former guard at San Quentin State Jail, his half-brother, one other affiliate and the romantic accomplice of a loss of life row inmate have pleaded responsible in a smuggling ring to slide cellphones to inmates.
The defendants are Keith Christopher, 38, of Pittsburg; Dustin Albini, 38, of Pittsburg; Isaiah Wells, 33, of Tracy; and Tanisa Smith-Symes, 46, of Las Vegas. They every pleaded responsible Friday to conspiracy to commit trustworthy companies fraud and bribery, based on a press release Monday from the U.S. Lawyer’s Workplace for the Northern District of California.
Christopher, the previous guard, made hundreds of dollars on the scheme, with a few of his confederates additionally getting payoffs, prosecutors mentioned. When the telephones made it contained in the jail, an unnamed loss of life row inmate would promote them to different inmates for his personal revenue, based on the federal government’s case.
The conspirators used Amazon, Money App and Venmo to maneuver merchandise and cash.
In November 2020, jail guards discovered a cellphone within the jacket of a prisoner named solely as “Inmate 1” in courtroom information. When brokers with the Federal Bureau of Investigation analyzed the cellphone, they linked the primary inmate to a second, in addition to to Christopher and the opposite defendants on the skin of the jail, based on an affidavit from FBI Particular Agent Candace Bond.
Inmate 1 and “Inmate 2,” additionally on loss of life row, had cellphones delivered by way of Amazon to Smith-Symes, who’d begun a “romantic relationship” with Inmate 1 in 2018, based on prosecutors.
Christopher admitted he directed Smith-Symes to ship 10 of these telephones to Albini’s house, the place Christopher collected them and later sneaked them into San Quentin, based on prosecutors. Smith-Symes then despatched $5,000 to Albini and Wells, which Christopher collected.
In Might 2020 they repeated the scheme, solely this time Smith-Symes despatched 15 telephones by way of Wells, who's Christopher’s half-brother, based on prosecutors. On this cargo, Christopher agreed to a reduction — $6,500 as an alternative of $7,500 — at Inmate 1’s request, with Wells pocketing $500.
At one level within the scheme, certainly one of Inmate 1’s contacts, named as “JB1,” complained that “Dude” was solely bringing in cellphones, and never marijuana or heroin, which might reap greater earnings for the inmates reselling the contraband.
“Don’t journey crip you continue to getting cash,” Inmate 1 responded, based on Owens’ affidavit.
Christopher was arrested at San Quentin on Sept. 7, 2021, whereas Wells was arrested at house and Smith-Symes in Las Vegas.
Though not named within the authentic federal grievance, Albini was named together with the opposite three in an indictment handed up by a federal grand jury on Sept. 29, 2021. Christopher was fired the subsequent day, based on the California Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Every conspirator may face a most of 20 years in jail on the conspiracy costs and as much as 10 years for every rely of bribery.
Christopher and Wells are scheduled for sentencing on Jan. 13. Albini and Smith-Symes are scheduled for standing hearings subsequent September.
Since Albini has no prior felony report, he “might be taking part in a program to divert him out of the felony justice system,” mentioned his lawyer, Robert Waggener.
“If he complies with the phrases of this system he might be allowed to withdraw his responsible pleas,” Waggener mentioned.
Wells’ lawyer, Albert Boro Jr., declined to remark. Smith-Symes’ lawyer, Ed Swanson, didn't reply to requests for remark, nor did Christopher’s federal public defender, David Rizk.