Overview

• Avelino Ramirez admitted on June 13 to staging discoveries of drugs, cellphones and weapons at San Quentin and Vacaville prisons to inflate his performance record.
• Ramirez served as a CDCR K-9 officer from 2013 until his promotion to sergeant at the California Medical Facility in Vacaville in November 2022.
• Federal prosecutors say he manufactured contraband packages at home and then pretended to find them during searches to stand out among his peers.
• The scheme earned him about $8,200 in overtime pay and triggered an FBI inquiry after an unusual spike in reported contraband finds.
• Ramirez remains out on bond ahead of his September 18 sentencing where he could also face up to $250,000 in fines.