Three men caught throwing cellphones over a fence into the Giles W. Dalby Correctional Facility face up to one year in prison after accepting a plea deal with federal prosecutors.
The men, identified as Gabriel Maldonado-Maciel, Saul Rivera-Ingot and Cristobal Monzon-Suruy, signed documents indicating their intent to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of providing contraband to federal prisoners.
Monzon-Suruy pleaded guilty to the charge Wednesday, March 20 according to court records. Settings are being scheduled for the remaining defendants to enter guilty pleas in U.S. Magistrate court.
The three men were arrested Jan. 11 after correctional officers at the Giles W. Dalby Correctional Facility saw two individuals approach the facility’s outside fence and throw packages containing contraband in the form of cellphones into the prison.
Later that day, the men were pulled over near the prison for traffic violations. In the vehicle, officers saw phones, chargers and packages belonging to the cellphones thrown into the facility.
Maldonado-Maciel, who was driving the vehicle, and the other two men were taken into custody and voluntarily spoke with authorities.
Rivera-Ingot and Monzon-Suruy told investigators that Maldonado-Maciel had picked them up and paid them $200 to throw the cellphones into the prison.
Federal documents do not indicate for whom the men were providing the contraband.
