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by Bay City NewsA Hells Angels member who was in jail for allegedly shooting at a Daly City home in 2011 pleaded not guilty Tuesday to new charges that he conspired with San Mateo County sheriff's employees to bring cellphones and drugs into the jail, according to prosecutors.
Dionicio Lopez Jr., 26, is charged with three counts of conspiracy, smuggling drugs into jail and possession of drugs while in jail for allegedly working with three sheriff's employees arrested last week to bring cellphones and drugs into the Maguire Correctional Facility in Redwood City, according to a criminal complaint filed by prosecutors.
Prosecutors announced Friday the arrest of three sheriff's employees in connection with the conspiracy -- Deputy Juan Pablo Lopez and corrections officers George Ismael and Michael Del Carlo.
Each has more than a decade of experience with the Sheriff's Office and Juan Lopez unsuccessfully ran to unseat Sheriff Greg Munks in June, receiving 1.4 percent of the vote.
They allegedly assisted Dionicio Lopez in smuggling cellphones into the jail while he was in custody between April and December 2013.
Dionicio Lopez was charged with shooting into a home where he mistakenly thought a rival gang member was living in Daly City on July 24, 2011, narrowly missing two young children who were watching TV inside. The bullet ricocheted off of the television and lodged in a wall, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said that while Dionicio Lopez was in custody for those charges in 2013, Ismael delivered at least two cellphones to him after communicating with two of his contacts outside of the jail -- Amanda Lopez, 25, and Roxanne Ingebretsen, 28. Another contact, Leticia Lopez, 55, allegedly bought a cellphone and handed it off to Ingebretsen, who gave it to Ismael.
At one point, Dionicio Lopez sold a cellphone to another inmate and Ismael allegedly brought him another one. Last November, Dionicio Lopez asked Del Carlo to take a cellphone out of his cell and two days later, 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 with contacts outside of jail, including fellow Hells Angels members, and arrange to smuggle oxycodone, alprazolam and ibuprofen into the jail.
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, Ingebretsen and Ismael are also charged with providing Dionicio Lopez with drugs.
Dionicio Lopez is next due in court on Dec. 19.
