U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Cunha | U.S. Department of Justice
A former correctional officer at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Facility has been sentenced to federal prison for smuggling controlled substances into the facility. The announcement was made by United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.
Court documents revealed that in February 2021, two inmates at the Wyatt Detention Center coordinated with a former detainee and another individual outside the facility to supply controlled substances to then-correctional officer Kaii Almeida-Falcones, 30, of Smithfield. Almeida-Falcones smuggled these substances into the detention center.
On February 15, 2021, a strip search of a detainee uncovered a package containing drugs smuggled by Almeida-Falcones. Lab tests confirmed these were controlled substances. Additional drugs were discovered in another detainee's cell, hidden inside a pillowcase. Security footage showed Almeida-Falcones entering both cells the previous evening.
U.S. District Court Judge William E. Smith sentenced Almeida-Falcones on November 14, 2024, to six months in federal prison followed by twenty-four months of supervised release, with the first six months under home confinement. He had pleaded guilty on June 10, 2024, to providing contraband to an inmate.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ly T. Chin prosecuted the case. The investigation was conducted by the FBI, United States Marshals Service, U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General, and Wyatt Detention Center's Professional Standards Unit.
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