Former Prison Cook Faces Sentencing for Role in Drug-Smuggling Scheme

LOS ANGELES (CNS) - A former prison cook could be sentenced today in Los Angeles to multiple years of incarceration for his role in a drug-trafficking conspiracy that smuggled narcotics behind bars.

Lance “Droop'' Medina, 34, of El Centro, pleaded guilty two years ago to one federal count of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. The charge carries a mandatory 10-year minimum prison sentence, according to papers filed in Los Angeles federal court.

Six defendants were involved in the scheme, which operated under the direction of Lamont “Mont'' Devault, who was an inmate at Centinela State Prison in 2017, serving a life sentence for murder, federal prosecutors said.

Devault recruited his son and co-defendant, Lamont Lee Devault II, 26, of Long Beach, to obtain narcotics supplied outside the prison by an associate of another inmate.

The son then delivered the drugs to Medina, so the then-prison cook could smuggle the narcotics into the Imperial County institution in his underwear.

In November 2017, Medina was caught trying to bring nearly 54 grams of meth into the prison. Medina had another 131 grams of meth and 91 grams of heroin at his home that he was planning to smuggle at Devault's direction, according to court papers.

The elder Devault was found guilty of drug and conspiracy charges and sentenced by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner to more than 15 years in federal prison, but the sentence will start only if he is paroled from his state term.

His son pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count last year, but the status of his case has not been made public.

Photo: Getty Images

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