A San Quentin prison guard and two others are facing federal charges this week for plotting to smuggle phones to inmates on death row.
According to investigators, Corrections Officer Keith Christopher, 37, Isaiah Wells, 32, and Tanisa Smith-Symes, 45, allegedly smuggled at least 25 phones into San Quentin State Prison, up-charging each contraband device for hundreds of dollars.
Prosecutors claim that the trio followed an intricate scheme to successfully transport the phones into the prison where Smith-Symes obtained the cell phones and sent them to Wells who then sent the devices to Christopher, who smuggled them into San Quentin’s East Block.
Christopher charged $500 for each phone he delivered to death row where they were then up-charged to $900 per device.
Under California law, inmates are prohibited from having cell phones as they create safety and security risks for prison employees and other inmates, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California stated.
Christopher, Wells and Smith-Symes are all being charged in California federal court with one count of conspiracy to commit honest services fraud using interstate wires. If convicted, they could face up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
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