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

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. – Miguel Angel Aleman-Piceno, 23, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced today to three years of federal probation for conspiracy to commit the felony crime of attempting to introduce contraband into a federal prison.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on February 1, 2024, Aleman-Piceno traveled on foot with co-defendant Francisco Alejandro Gonzalez to the fence surrounding Federal Correctional Institution (FCI) McDowell. Aleman-Piceno and Gonzalez possessed a backpack and a duffle bag containing a drone and two camouflaged packages containing four cell phones, chargers, phone cards, marijuana, and tobacco. As part of his guilty plea, Aleman-Piceno admitted that they intended to fly the packages onto the grounds of FCI McDowell using the drone and were stopped by law enforcement as they prepared to launch the drone.

Aleman-Piceno further admitted to traveling to McDowell County, West Virginia, from Chicago with Gonzalez and co-defendant Arturo Joel Gallegos, believing that he would be paid $3,000 to deliver the packages into the prison by drone. Aleman-Piceno also admitted that he and his two co-defendants stayed an area motel where law enforcement seized marijuana, tobacco and materials used to make the camouflaged packages.

Gonzalez, 24, of Chicago, pleaded guilty on July 7, 2025, to conspiracy to commit the felony crime of attempting to introduce contraband into a federal prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on November 3, 2025. Gallegos, 26, of Chicago, pleaded guilty August 26, 2025, to conspiracy to introduce or attempt to introduce contraband into a federal prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on December 8, 2025.

Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston 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.

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