Metropolitan Correctional Center, San Diego
 | |
Interactive map of Metropolitan Correctional Center, San Diego | |
| Location |
|
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | Administrative security |
| Population | 1,000[1] |
| Managed by | Federal Bureau of Prisons |
The Metropolitan Correctional Center, San Diego (MCC San Diego) is a United States federal administrative detention facility in San Diego, California, United States. It holds male and female prisoners of all security levels. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice.
Most prisoners held at MCC San Diego have pending cases in the United States District Court for the Southern District of California. MCC San Diego also holds prisoners serving brief sentences.[2] MCC San Diego is an administrative facility designed to house federal prisoners of all security levels, including both male and female offenders. The building is 23 stories and can house 1,300 inmates.[3]
History
MCC San Diego opened in December 1974 and represented the first shift within the Bureau of Prisons to a new generation of high-rise prison buildings, along with MCC New York and MCC Chicago.[4]
Notable incidents
On March 18, 2011, the office of Laura E. Duffy, the US attorney for the Southern District of California, announced that Brandon McKinney, a former correctional officer at MCC San Diego, had been indicted on suspicion of having sexual relations with a female inmate while on duty on July 20, 2010. Since sexual relationships between prison staff and inmates are prohibited by law regardless of consent, McKinney was terminated and charged with assault. McKinney subsequently pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 months in prison on August 10, 2012.[5][6]
Duffy's office issued a press release on July 18, 2013 announcing that Kirk Borja, an inmate at MCC San Diego, had pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute methamphetamine and possessing heroin with the intent to distribute it. Borja was originally indicted on the methamphetamine trafficking charge following his arrest in January 2012 as part of Operation Carnalismo, an investigation into the Mexican Mafia gang. Borja also admitted in his plea to concealing heroin inside his body while he was at MCC San Diego and planning to distribute it to other inmates before it was discovered by correctional officers.[7] Borja is still being held at MCC San Diego pending sentencing.[8]
Notable inmates (current and former)
| Inmate Name | Register Number | Photo | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fidel Villarreal | 14217-298 | Transferred to Long Beach Residential Reentry Management.
Serving a 30-year sentence; scheduled for release on December 20, 2026. |
Brothers and former US Border Patrol Agents; convicted in 2012 of operating a human smuggling ring which brought over 1,000 illegal immigrants into the US from Mexico in exchange for $1 million in bribes.[9][10][11] | |
| Raul Villarreal | 14218-298 | Transferred to FCI Milan.
Serving a 30-year sentence; scheduled for release on August 28, 2031. | ||
| John Timothy Earnest | 85152-298 |  |
Transferred to California Men's Colony.[12]
Serving a federal sentence of life plus 30 years, consecutive to his state sentence of life plus 137 years.[13] |
Perpetrator of the Poway synagogue shooting, which killed one woman and injured three others. Convicted in federal court of 54 counts of violating the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, 55 counts of violating the Church Arson Prevention Act, and four firearms offenses.[14] |
| José Rodrigo Aréchiga Gamboa | 42130-298 |  |
Released from custody on March 3, 2020.[15] | Mexican professional hitman, drug lord and high-ranking leader of the Sinaloa Cartel. Pleaded guilty in 2015 to conspiracy to import cocaine and marijuana into the United States.[16] Aréchiga Gamboa absconded from his probation on May 6, 2020, and was found murdered in Sinaloa on May 16.[15] |
See also
References
- ↑ "Federal Bureau of Prisons - Weekly Population Report". Bop.gov. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- ↑ "Federal Bureau of Prisons - MCC San Diego". Bop.gov. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
- ↑ Huspek, Michael (August 24, 1997). "THE STATE; Why Violence Is Growing Along the U.S.-Mexico Border". Archived from the original on October 22, 2012.
- ↑ Bosworth, Mary (2002). The US Federal Prison System. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. p. 45.
- ↑ "Office of the US Attorney - Southern District of California: News Release Summary" (PDF). US Department of Justice. March 18, 2011. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- ↑ "Man Sentenced for Assault with Intent to Commit Another Felony". Federal Bureau of Investigation. August 10, 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- ↑ "Inmate Pleads Guilty to Heroin Trafficking Inside the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Downtown San Diego". Federal Bureau of Investigation. July 18, 2013. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- ↑ "Federal Bureau of Prisons - Inmate Locator". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- ↑ "Two Former Border Patrol Agents Sentenced for Alien Smuggling, Bribery and Money Laundering" (PDF). Justice.gov. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
- ↑ "Ex-Border Patrol agents sentenced to at least 30 years". Fox News. June 21, 2013.
- ↑ Watson, Julie (2013-06-21). "Former Border Patrol agents sentenced to 30 years in immigrant smuggling case - U.S. News". Usnews.nbcnews.com. Retrieved 2015-10-09.
- ↑ "California Incarcerated Records & Information Search (CIRIS) - CDCR". ciris.mt.cdcr.ca.gov. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ Spagat, Elliott (28 December 2021). "California man gets second life term for synagogue attack". Spokesman.com. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "California Man Sentenced to Life Followed by 30 Years in Prison for Federal Hate Crimes Related to 2019 Poway Synagogue Shooting and Attempted Mosque Arson". www.justice.gov. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- 1 2 Resendiz, Julian. "Mexican feds, US officials seek to verify death of fugitive cartel hitman 'El Chino Ántrax'". Fox 2 News. Retrieved 30 July 2026.
- ↑ "High-ranking Sinaloa Cartel Member Admits To Drug Trafficking And Violence". www.justice.gov.
