Chicago Man Sentenced for Role in Schemes to Transport Contraband into FCI McDowell with Drone

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Arturo Joel Gallegos, 27, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced today to three years of federal probation, for conspiracy to introduce or attempt to introduce contraband into a federal prison.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 1, 2024, Gallegos traveled to Welch, West Virginia, with two other Chicago men, co-defendants Miguel Angel Aleman-Piceno and Francisco Alejandro Gonzalez. Later that day, law enforcement officers caught Aleman-Piceno and Gonzalez with a drone and camouflaged packages containing tobacco, four cell phones, chargers, phone cards and marijuana next to the prison fence. Also that day, officers encountered Gallegos at a Welch motel where they seized packaging materials, tobacco, and marijuana.

As part of his guilty plea, Gallegos admitted that he conspired with Aleman-Piceno and Gonzalez to fly the contraband onto the grounds of FCI McDowell, and that he expected to be paid for his participation in the conspiracy.

Aleman-Piceno, 23, pleaded guilty on June 2, 2025, and Gonzalez, 25, pleaded guilty on July 7, 2025, each to conspiracy to commit the felony crime of attempting to introduce contraband into a federal prison. Each was sentenced to three years of federal probation.

United States Attorney Moore Capito made the announcement and commended the investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), and the McDowell County Sheriff’s Office.

Senior United States District Judge David A. Faber imposed the sentence. Assistant United States Attorney Brian D. Parsons prosecuted the case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia. Related court documents and information can be found on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:24-cr-126.