California prison guard indicted on charges of taking bribes to smuggle cellphones

A California prison guard has been indicted by a federal grand jury on charges that he accepted bribes to smuggle cellphones into the California Medical Center in Vacaville, court records say.

Stephen Joseph Crittenden, 43, of Suisun City, was indicted on two counts of bribery alleging he smuggled phones into the prison between July 3, 2022, and Oct. 5, 2022, according to an indictment unsealed Thursday morning in Sacramento federal court.

Crittenden made his initial court appearance Thursday afternoon in Sacramento and pleaded not guilty. He was released on his own recognizance and his next hearing was scheduled for Dec. 14.

If convicted, Crittenden could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation has worked for years to prevent contraband such as cellphones from being brought into prisons, with staff and visitors subject to searches.

But the use of drones to drop items near prisons has increased dramatically in recent years, particularly during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic when in-prison visitation was limited, CDCR says.

“During the same period of time that movement into the institutions was restricted, including in-person visiting for the incarcerated population due to the COVID-19 pandemic, CDCR experienced a significant increase in contraband discoveries as a result of unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) sightings, mail and package screening, and contraband found ‘dropped’ on or near institution grounds,” CDCR says. “In 2019, prior to COVID-19, there were a total of 48 drone sightings/discoveries; in 2020, the number decreased to 25.

“At the peak of the pandemic, 2021, CDCR recorded a total of 138 drone sightings/discoveries, and as of December 9, 2022, there have been 245 drone sightings/discoveries.”