Miguel Angel Aleman-Piceno, a 22-year-old from Chicago, Illinois, has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit the felony crime of attempting to introduce contraband into a federal prison. This development was announced in Bluefield, West Virginia.
Court documents reveal that on February 1, 2024, Aleman-Piceno and co-defendant Francisco Alejandro Gonzalez approached the fence surrounding Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) McDowell. They carried a backpack and a duffle bag containing a drone and two camouflaged packages filled with four cell phones, chargers, phone cards, marijuana, and tobacco. Aleman-Piceno admitted their plan was to use the drone to deliver these items onto the prison grounds but were intercepted by law enforcement before launching it.
Aleman-Piceno also confessed to traveling from Chicago to McDowell County, West Virginia with Gonzalez and another co-defendant Arturo Joel Gallegos. He believed he would be paid $3,000 for delivering the packages via drone. During their stay at a local motel, law enforcement seized marijuana, tobacco, and materials used for making camouflaged packages.
Aleman-Piceno's sentencing is set for September 8, 2025. He faces up to five years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine.
Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston praised the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office.
The hearing was overseen by Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber with Assistant United States Attorney Brian D. Parsons prosecuting the case.
Meanwhile, charges against Gonzalez and Gallegos are still pending. An indictment serves as an allegation until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt in court.
In a related case involving separate indictments, Hector Luis Gomez DeJesus from Sanford, North Carolina; Raymond Luis Saez Aviles from Poinciana, Florida; and Gamalier Rivera from Allentown, Pennsylvania have pleaded guilty to aiding in introducing contraband into FCI McDowell using drones on February 9, 2024. Sentencing dates for DeJesus and Aviles are set for August 11, 2025 while Rivera will be sentenced on July 7, 2025.
Further details can be accessed through PACER under Case No. 1:24-cr-126 or on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website for the Southern District of West Virginia.
