DA sheds more light on sheriff employees’ arrests

By Scott Morris, Bay City News Service

A Hells Angels member is accused of conspiring with sheriff’s employees to smuggle cellphones and drugs into a Redwood City jail, according to San Mateo County District Attorney Steve Wagstaffe.

Dionicio Lopez Jr., 26, was out on $1 million bail and awaiting trial for allegedly shooting at a Daly City home in 2011 when he was re-arrested for the alleged conspiracy and his bail was increased to $2 million. He remains in custody, but prosecutors now hope to have bail revoked altogether.

His new charges include three counts of conspiracy, smuggling drugs into jail and possession of drugs while in jail.

Prosecutors announced Nov. 14 the arrest of three Sheriff’s Office employees in connection with an alleged conspiracy to smuggle cellphones and drugs into the Maguire Correctional Facility. The arrested men are Deputy Juan Pablo Lopez and corrections officers George Ismael and Michael Del Carlo.

Mr. Wagstaffe said that prosecutors have found no family relationship between Juan Lopez and Dionicio Lopez.

Each of the arrested Sheriff’s Office employees has more than a decade of experience with the Sheriff’s Office. Juan Lopez unsuccessfully ran as a write-in candidate to unseat Sheriff Greg Munks in June, receiving 1.4 percent of the vote.

Prosecutors allege that the men assisted Dionicio Lopez in smuggling cellphones into the jail while he was in custody between April and December 2013.

Dionicio Lopez was placed in custody after he was charged with shooting into a Daly City home in which he mistakenly thought a rival gang member was living. The shooting occurred on July 24, 2011. The bullet ricocheted off a television and lodged in a wall after narrowly missing two young children who were watching TV inside, prosecutors said.

While Dionicio Lopez was in custody for those charges in 2013, Mr. Ismael allegedly delivered at least two cellphones to him after communicating with his sister, Amanda Lopez, 25, and girlfriend, Roxanne Ingebretsen, 28, outside of the jail, Mr. Wagstaffe said.

Dionicio Lopez’s mother, Leticia Lopez, 55, allegedly bought a cellphone and handed it off to Ms. Ingebretsen, who gave it to Mr. Ismael.

At one point, Dionicio Lopez sold a cellphone to another inmate and Mr. Ismael allegedly brought him another one, according to the DA’s office. Last November, Dionicio Lopez asked Mr. Del Carlo to take a cellphone out of his cell and two days later Mr. Del Carlo allegedly brought it back, according to the complaint.

At one point, Deputy Juan Lopez took a photo of two other inmates with one of the contraband phones, according to the complaint.

The cellphones allegedly allowed Dionicio Lopez to communicate while in jail with his mother, sister and girlfriend as well as fellow Hells Angels members. In that way, he arranged to smuggle oxycodone, alprazolam and ibuprofen into the jail, prosecutors said.

The cellphone and pills were found hidden in a light fixture in Dionicio Lopez’s jail cell in December, according to the complaint.

All seven defendants are facing conspiracy charges, and Amanda Lopez, Ms. Ingebretsen and Mr. Ismael are also charged with providing Dionicio Lopez with drugs.

While all the defendants have been charged, they were arrested at different times and in different jurisdictions. Only Mr. Ismael, who was arraigned Nov. 17, and Dionicio Lopez have appeared in court on the charges, while the other defendants have bailed out and are expected to appear over the coming weeks, Mr. Wagstaffe said.

Juan Lopez is scheduled to be appear in court on Dec. 31; Amanda Lopez, her mother and Ms. Ingebretsen, on Dec. 19; and Mr. Del Carlo on Dec. 31, Mr. Wagstaffe said.

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