Man used drone to fly cell phones into Springfield's Fed Med, prosecutors say

Federal prosecutors say a man was caught this weekend using a drone to fly and drop cell phones into the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, known colloquially as the Fed Med.

Court documents say Ruben Simental, 27, was busted Saturday by the Springfield Police Department for being in a park after hours. Police allegedly discovered that Simental was set up at the park late at night so he could use his drone to drop cell phones into the nearby federal prison grounds.

Federal prisoners are generally not allowed to possess cell phones and could face punishment if caught with the devices, which are considered contraband.

In a 2018 news release, then-Assistant Attorney General Beth Williams called cell phones in prisons "a major and growing security threat to correctional officers, law enforcement officials, and the general public" due to the potential of prisoners using cell phones to coordinate criminal activity inside and outside of their facilities.

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As of Wednesday, Simental did not appear to be facing criminal charges in Missouri related to the drone activity, but federal prosecutors are seeking to revoke his bond in an Oklahoma case where he's charged with being a felon in possession of guns and ammunition. Court documents say one of the conditions of Simental's release is that he could not travel outside of Oklahoma.

Simental was being held in the Greene County Jail as of Wednesday morning and made a brief appearance at the federal courthouse in Springfield.

After the News-Leader informed Simental's Oklahoma-based attorney Mike Johnson about the new allegations, Johnson said he "looked forward to seeing (Simental) back in Oklahoma."

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Oklahoma man accused of flying drone, dropping cell phones at Fed Med