A California prison guard allegedly helped a drug smuggler smuggle 20 kilograms from Mexico into a Rowland Heights stash house, Los Angeles County prosecutors said Friday.
The corrections officer, Jesus Reyes, was charged with conspiracy to sell drugs, possession of drugs for sale and transporting drugs across county lines. Reyes, 45, has not yet entered a plea and it was not clear Friday whether he was represented by an attorney.
According to a statement from Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Nathan Hochman, Reyes delivered cocaine from Mexico in 2023 to the rented home of Jose Luis Aldahir Rocha Luque.
Luke, 27, who faces the same charges as Reyes, allegedly maintained the house to store drugs and money. It was not clear whether he was represented by a lawyer.
According to Hochman’s statement and the DEA seizure notice, when officers from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration searched the home on August 1, 2023, they found 20 kilograms of cocaine and $179,680 in cash.
“It is reprehensible that a state corrections officer can be seduced by greed and induced by others to commit crimes that endanger the public,” Hochman said in the statement.
District Attorney’s Office spokesman Greg Risling declined to say why prosecutors did not bring charges against Reyes and Luke for nearly three years. He submitted questions to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation about Reyes’ employment, which did not immediately receive a response.
Reyes’ trial comes two months after a lieutenant with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation was arrested on federal charges alleging he smuggled cellphones into Salinas Valley State Prison in exchange for $100,000. Matthew Madsen, 39, has pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to commit honest services fraud and is free on bond.
Salinas Valley has become one of the most violent lockups in the state. Five inmates were murdered at the Monterey County Jail in 2025, and two more have been killed this year.
