TEXARKANA, Texas - An inmate who conspired with a correctional officer at the Texarkana Federal Correctional Institution to smuggle contraband pleaded guilty Monday before a federal judge in Texarkana.
Gilbert Gomez appeared with Texarkana lawyer Jeff Harrelson before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven for a first appearance on a criminal information charging him with bribery. Earlier this month, Gomez's codefendant and former correctional officer James Thompson, pleaded guilty to the same offense.
Thompson is free on a $5,000 unsecured appearance bond. Gomez is in federal custody.
According to a factual basis document filed Monday in Gomez' case, Gomez and Thompson conspired to bring contraband such as cell phones and tobacco into the federal prison in Texarkana. The scheme began around August 2019 and continued until January.
Inmates arranged for Thompson to pick up cash payments and contraband including "tobacco, cell phones and other substances" from a post office box in Mount Pleasant, Texas, which Thompson smuggled into the prison.
"In furtherance of that conspiracy, I received at my post office box multiple packages each week that were addressed to Bobby Brown and contained cash and prison contraband," Thompson's factual basis states.
"And instead of enforcing the law and protecting the staff and inmates at the institution, I then smuggled the contraband I had received into FCI Texarkana and gave it to Gomez for distribution to others. In total, I received at least $17,200.00 in bribe payments, $2200 of which consisted of United States currency that agents seized from me at my home."
Gomez' factual basis notes that he received at least $15,000 as part of the conspiracy. The government is seeking a money judgment against Gomez in that amount.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Hornok is representing the government.