Ex-Allred Prison guards indicted in federal sweep
Two former guards at the Allred Prison Unit near Wichita Falls are among 13 people indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury in San Antonio on allegations of smuggling drugs into state prisons.
The two are Osauwa Emmanuel Williams, 48, and Anival Ruiz Porras, 41.
A release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office claimed the two men provided drugs to the Juan Munoz Drug Trafficking Organization.
More: Allred among prisons under statewide lockdown
The indictments allege Williams and Porras got narcotics, cellphones and other contraband from non-imprisoned members of the organization and smuggled them to prisoners in exchange for thousands of dollars.
Federal agents seized paper sheets soaked in fentanyl, heroin and other drugs from the homes of some of the suspects who were indicted.
More: Convicted murderer pleads guilty to Allred Unit attack on another inmate
Williams is charged with one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and one count of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
More: 'Suspicious bulge' in picture leads to arrest for prohibited item in North Texas prison
He was arrested May 28 by Wichita Falls Police officers and state agents after they observed him make an exchange with another person in the parking lot of the IHOP restaurant on Southwest Parkway. The officers had been alerted about a shipment of narcotics going to the Allred unit and found baggies and methamphetamine and some cell phones destined for the prison. Williams was booked in lieu of a $200,000 bond and was later released to another agency.
More: Woman reportedly caught mailing THC concealed in book to Allred inmate
Porras was arrested Feb. 13 by Wichita Falls Police in a traffic stop on Central Freeway. Officers found papers soaked in fentanyl, according to documents filed in the case. He was released to the U.S. Marshal’s Service.
According to the indictment, once smuggled into a correctional facility, the organization could then sell a single sheet of drug-soaked paper for up to $1,000 and made nearly $333,000 during the period of the investigation.
Munoz, suspected leader of the statewide criminal operation, is currently serving a 35-year prison sentence for murder in Tarrant County.
Prisons across Texas have been plagued by drugs, contraband and murder. Allred and other units were placed on temporary lockdown in September because of the severity of the problems.
Also in September, another guard, was arrested on allegations he brought drug-laced gummy candy into Allred in what was apparently an incident unrelated to these recent indictments.
This article originally appeared on Wichita Falls Times Record News: Ex-Allred Prison guards indicted in federal sweep
