Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Garrett Scott Wheelen, a 33-year-old resident of Fresno, has been sentenced to 12 years and 7 months in prison. The sentence was delivered by United States District Judge Dena M. Coggins for possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute, according to an announcement from Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith.
FBI Sacramento Special Agent in Charge Sid Patel stated, "Garrett Wheelen brazenly attempted to throw packages containing tobacco and methamphetamine into the prison yard of Federal Correctional Institution, Mendota." He emphasized the controlled nature of federal prisons and highlighted the FBI's collaboration with local, state, and federal partners to hold individuals accountable for introducing contraband into prisons.
Court documents reveal that on May 1, 2024, Wheelen arrived at the Federal Correctional Institution Mendota disguised with a facemask, baseball cap, and hoodie. In broad daylight, he approached the prison fence and threw four packages into the recreation yard before being quickly apprehended while attempting to flee. The packages contained over three pounds of methamphetamine. At that time, Wheelen was under supervised release from a prior federal felony charge.
Initially planning to hide narcotics inside red squirrel pelts to avoid detection by prison staff, Wheelen discussed purchasing pelts and sewing up narcotics inside through text messages. However, he abandoned this plan and opted instead to toss the narcotics over the fence without any attempt at disguise.
Wheelen also received a concurrent two-year sentence for violating his supervised release terms related to his previous charges.
This case resulted from an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mendota Police Department, and Bureau of Prisons. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cody S. Chapple and Dhruv M. Sharma are leading the prosecution.
