State prison officer accused of smuggling drugs to inmates
PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) -- A 31-year-old corrections officer at the Coffee Creek women's state prison in Wilsonville appeared in federal court Monday, accused of smuggling methamphetamine and heroin to inmates at the facility.
Richard Steven Alberts II, 31, an Oregon Department of Corrections Officer and resident of Sherwood, made an initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge John Jelderks.
The court unsealed a three-count indictment charging Alberts and co-conspirator Joseph Lucio Jimenez, 27, of Gresham, with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances and distribution of heroin.
Alberts and Jimenez are alleged to have conspired with one another and others to distribute methamphetamine and heroin into the Coffee Creek Correctional Facility in Wilsonville, where Alberts is employed.
The Oregon Department of Corrections previously placed Alberts on administrative leave pending this investigation, federal prosecutors said.
Alberts was released pending a scheduled jury trial on Feb. 25 before U.S. District Court Judge Michael H. Simon.
He has been on paid leave from his job for the Oregon Department of Corrections since June. After his arrest Monday morning, he was placed on unpaid leave, according to his lawyer and the prosecutor.
Jimenez was in pre-trial custody on an unrelated felon in possession of a firearm charge when he was indicted in the drug smuggling case. He will remain in custody and make his first appearance on the new charges at a later date.
This case was investigated by the FBI, Oregon State Police, and Oregon Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General, and is being prosecuted by Craig Gabriel and Scott Bradford, Assistant U.S. Attorneys for the District of Oregon.
