CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 55-year-old woman has pleaded guilty to mailing meth-laced papers disguised as mail to the Coastal Bend Detention Center (CBDC), announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Gail Hostetter, Corpus Christi, pleaded guilty to knowingly and intentionally possessing and attempting to provide meth to an inmate.
On Jan. 29, 2021, Hostetter mailed a letter purporting to be from a local law firm to an inmate at CBDC. However, facility staff intercepted it and sent it for testing. The mail tested positive for meth. Law enforcement subsequently executed a search warrant on Hostetter’s residence where they found additional empty envelopes pre-addressed from various local law firms.
The investigation revealed the inmate devised the plan and recruited Hostetter among others to mail meth-laced papers into the detention center. The scheme involved creating envelopes designed to look like legal mail.
As part of her plea, Hostetter admitted to mailing meth into a jail facility on at least one other occasion.
U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos will impose sentencing Oct. 18. At that time, Hostetter faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
She has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Marshals Service, The GEO Group, Drug Enforcement Administration, Corpus Christi Police Department, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Bureau of Prisons and FBI Miami Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Marin and John Marck are prosecuting the case.