A detainee at the Donald W. Wyatt Detention Center, Matthew Pizarro, has been sentenced to five years in federal prison for his role in a conspiracy to possess and distribute contraband within the facility. The announcement was made by Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Pizarro, 36, admitted in court that he worked with another detainee and individuals outside the detention center to arrange for contraband to be delivered and distributed inside. Former Correctional Officer Kaii Almeida-Falcones of Smithfield was identified as the person who brought the contraband into the facility.
Video surveillance from February 14, 2021, showed Almeida-Falcones visiting Pizarro’s cell briefly before Pizarro went to Emmanuel Nolasco’s cell. A strip search of Nolasco uncovered a package containing suboxone strips. In Pizarro’s cell, officers found a plastic bottle with 4.5 grams of marijuana hidden in his pillowcase.
Lab analysis confirmed that the seized suboxone consisted of 201 strips, including partial ones, all containing buprenorphine—a controlled substance classified under Schedule III.
On March 12, 2025, Pizarro pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances, distribution of Suboxone, and possession of contraband by an inmate. U.S. District Court Judge Melissa R. DuBose sentenced him to sixty months in prison followed by three years of supervised release.
Almeida-Falcones was previously sentenced on November 14, 2024, receiving six months in federal prison and twenty-four months of supervised release; his first six months will be served under home confinement after pleading guilty on June 10, 2024.
Nolasco received a forty-eight month sentence on November 3, 2024. He pleaded guilty on June 20, 2023 to charges including possession with intent to distribute Suboxone and possession of contraband by an inmate.
Assistant United States Attorneys Paul F. Daly Jr. and Ly T. Chin prosecuted these cases.
The investigation involved several agencies: the FBI; United States Marshals Service; U.S. Department of Justice Office of Inspector General; and Wyatt Detention Center’s Professional Standards Unit.
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