From sophisticated drone drops to simple duffel bag tosses over an exterior fence, smugglers have been getting drugs, alcohol, food and other contraband into the minimum-security camp at Oregon’s federal prison complex, an FBI agent disclosed in a court document unsealed Thursday.
The rare public details of the range of smuggling strategies emerged in the case of a former prisoner on federal supervision who was arrested during a dragnet last month at the prison complex in Sheridan.
Administrators had noticed an increase in drug overdoses and weapons inside the prison and were growing increasingly concerned, FBI agent John Mandrafina wrote in the affidavit.
They also noticed prisoners going outside during “morning counts” at the camp and then distributing the goods, the affidavit said.
After tracking the activity for about six weeks, they launched a trap and caught a man accused of using the more tried-and-true method of so-called “throw overs,” – tossing bags over a prison fence.
Early on May 18, prison staff, working with Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office, set up surveillance teams in spots around the prison property between 4 a.m. and 5 a.m.
Soon, investigators spotted a figure dressed all in black with a black-hooded sweatshirt approaching the prison fence line about 4:10 a.m., according to Mandrafina.
The man appeared to have entered the grounds through the adjacent city water treatment plant’s property, then belly-crawled toward the fence line, the affidavit said.
Prison surveillance cameras captured him throwing seven bags over the fence and then returning the way he came, the affidavit said.
A sheriff’s deputy used a drone to follow the suspect as he walked back through the water treatment plant and to a silver Mazda 3 parked on rural Southwest Loganberry Lane, Mandrafina wrote.
The suspect drove west toward Oregon 18, where deputies stopped the car.
Horacio Lopez, dressed in soaking black clothes, was behind the wheel and then arrested, according to the affidavit.
Lopez, 40, was still on federal supervision stemming from a 2020 methamphetamine possession and distribution conviction. He had been sentenced in mid-December 2020 to five years and three months and served his time at the prison in Sheridan, according to court records.
He was released to a halfway house on Nov. 1, 2023 and placed on home confinement the next month. He also completed required substance abuse treatment in February 2024, according to the records.
Lopez appeared Thursday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Stacie F. Beckerman in Portland, accused of violating his supervised release, smuggling contraband into prison and possessing with intent to distribute methamphetamine.
He was ordered held until an arraignment on July 11. Assistant Federal Public Defender Michelle Sweet did not contest his detention at this stage in his case.
Lopez also was charged in state court with seven counts of supplying contraband and one count of methamphetamine possession, but that case likely will be dropped now that he faces federal prosecution.
The morning of the bag drop, four prisoners were caught trying to retrieve them, the affidavit said.
The bags contained about an ounce of suspected methamphetamine wrapped in cellophane; 197 sealed packets of Buprenorphine, which is used to treat fentanyl and other opioid addictions; the overdose-reversing drug naloxone; and three bottles of unidentified white pills.
The affidavit didn’t offer more information on the extent of the smuggling and overdose problems at Sheridan, and Federal Bureau of Prisons officials didn’t return messages for comment.
Lt. David Pedraza, a special investigative supervisor at Sheridan, had notified Yamhill County Sheriff’s Office in May that the Sheridan prison was “having issues” with contraband entering the facility, Mandrafina’s affidavit said.
Pedraza told the sheriff’s office that the contraband was being smuggled in through various methods, including “drone drops” and duffel bags tossed over a secure exterior fence outside the minimum security camp, the federal agent wrote.
For at least six weeks leading up to Lopez’s arrest, prison officials suspected contraband was being dropped onto the property in pre-dawn hours, usually on Sundays, but had no suspect or vehicle information nor knew how anyone responsible was gaining access to the area, according to Pedraza, the affidavit said.
Contraband is more likely to enter federal prison camps because of their minimum security, compared to the more locked-down prisons.
An unannounced inspection of the federal prison in Sheridan in late 2023 found that contraband was a “persistent and significant challenge,” particularly in the prison camp where people can move around more freely during the day.
Prisoners abuse illicit drugs, including synthetic cannabinoids such as K2 or spice, and some drugs also enter through the mail, according to a report released last year by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Inspector General.
Drone drops are a phenomenon at other federal prisons. Earlier this month, a man in West Virginia pleaded guilty to conspiring to use a drone to deliver two camouflaged bags containing cellphones, chargers, marijuana and tobacco at the prison there.
The National Institute of Justice two years ago warned that drone drops and duffel bag drops over prison fences could increase if prison mail became digitized.
“The penal system has not yet developed operations standards to guide drone detection and abatement,” the institute’s 2023 report said.
“The most promising strategy against illicit drone activity is a multilayered approach that merges sensor capabilities to overcome the performance gaps of an individual technology. This is especially important given the high variability in drone designs and functionality,” the report said.
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