A former California correctional officer is facing federal prison after pleading guilty to a scheme where he planted contraband that he pretended to discover, in order to obtain a promotion, prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California announced Friday that 52-year-old Avelino Ramirez of Vallejo admitted to one count of wire fraud.
Ramirez worked for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation as a Investigave Services Unit K-9 officer at San Quentin State Prison from 2013 to 2022 and was later promoted to K-9 sergeant at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville. He was indicted by a federal grand jury in Oct. 2024.
According to his plea agreement, Ramirez engaged in a scheme to smuggle contraband into the prisons and plant the items in common areas of the prisons, which he would then pretend to discover.
"Ramirez did so in order to hold himself out as a successful K-9 officer with the hope that it would help him obtain a promotion to K-9 sergeant," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement.
Among the items planted included methamphetamine, cannabis and cocaine, along with drug paraphernalia, tobacco, cellphones and weapons. During certain instances, prosecutors said Ramirez mixed narcotics with salt and or sugar and mixed cannabis with lawn trimmings.
Prosecutors said Ramirez had also sought to inflate his salary by claiming overtime related to searches involving the scheme and writing reports on the false discoveries. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, he received about $8,200 in fraudulent overtime pay.
Ramirez, who is out on bond, is scheduled to be sentenced on Sep. 18. He faces a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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