Correctional Officer Pleads Guilty to Receiving Bribes for Smuggling Drugs into D.C. Jail

            WASHINGTON – A Correctional Officer working at the D.C. jail pleaded guilty today to receiving bribes to smuggle drugs into the D.C. jail. Beverly Williams, 52, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty in United States District Court to one count of bribery. U.S. District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich scheduled a sentencing hearing for June 12, 2023. United States Attorney Matthew M. Graves and FBI Assistant Director in Charge David Sundberg of the Washington Field Office made the announcement.

            According to court documents, as part of her plea, Williams admitted that, between June and September of 2022, while working as a Correctional Officer at D.C. jail, she accepted bribe payments to smuggle packages containing narcotics into D.C. jail. Williams conspired with Keywaune McLeod, 28, of Washington D.C., and an inmate in D.C. jail. In return for the bribe payments, Williams would receive packages of drugs from McLeod and smuggle them into the facility by concealing them on her body. Once inside the D.C. jail, Williams would transfer the drugs to the inmate who would then distribute the drugs for a profit. McLeod, who was accepting and managing the proceeds from such distribution, used CashApp to make bribe payments to Williams for the drug smuggling.

            Previously, in September and October 2022, Williams was charged as part of a three-co-defendant complaint, later followed by an indictment. Specifically, McLeod, Williams, and Andre Gregory, 31, who was incarcerated at the D.C. jail’s CDF while awaiting trial, were charged with conspiracy, bribery, and smuggling. All charges as to Gregory remain pending.

            The bribery charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of 15 years in prison, as well as potential financial penalties. The federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

            The FBI Washington Field Office is investigating the case.  

            This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gauri Gopal and Ahmed Baset with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Lisa Abbe, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia’s Fraud, Public Corruption, and Civil Rights Section.

            A complaint and an indictment are merely allegations, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.