Former California Department Of Corrections And Rehabilitation Employee Pleads Guilty To Possession With Intent To Distribute Over 300 Grams Of Methamphetamine To Inmates At[...]

SAN FRANCISCO - Former California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation employee, Keith Reindeer Randle, pleaded guilty in federal court today to possession with intent to distribute over 300 grams of methamphetamine to inmates at San Quentin Rehabilitation Center, formerly known as San Quentin State Prison.

Randle, 56, of Vallejo, California, was charged by Information on March 20, 2025, with one count of possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine.

In pleading guilty, Randle admitted to soliciting and accepting bribery payments in exchange for smuggling and distributing prison contraband, including methamphetamine, marijuana, and tobacco, to inmates at San Quentin. The scheme went on for years, dating back to at least January 2019 and continuing through August 15, 2024. Randle charged inmates and their associates approximately $1,000 per item he smuggled into the prison and initially received payments directly from inmates. However, fearing law enforcement might uncover his contraband and drug distribution scheme, Randle began to solicit and accept bribery payments from the associates of inmates rather than inmates themselves. On August 15, 2024, Randle was caught inside San Quentin with a hollowed out peanut butter jar containing 301 grams of methamphetamine, as well as marijuana. The peanut butter jar was painted brown and glued shut to appear full and unopened.

Randle profited significantly from his years-long bribery and drug distribution scheme. For example, from January 2019 through April 2020, Randle was paid $31,000 from associates of inmates to his PayPal account in exchange for smuggling contraband into the prison. As another example, from July 2021 through August 2022, Randle received approximately $40,926 via Cash App from an inmate's wife in exchange for smuggling contraband to her husband at San Quentin. In 2023 and 2024, Randle primarily only accepted bribery payments in cash. On October 1, 2024, federal law enforcement seized $55,210 in cash from Randle's two residences, all of which Randle admitted were proceeds from his bribery and drug distribution scheme. In total, Randle admitted to soliciting and accepting over $100,000 in bribery payments from inmates and their associates. With the illicit proceeds, Randle admitted to making numerous purchases, such as buying cars, motorcycles, and other assets.

United States Attorney Craig H. Missakian and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Matthew Cobo made the announcement.

Randle's sentencing hearing is scheduled for August 21, 2026, before U.S. District Judge Susan Illston. He faces a maximum statutory penalty of 40 years' imprisonment and a $5,000,000 fine in violation of 21 U.S.C. §§ 841(a)(1) and (b)(1)(B)(viii), possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of methamphetamine. Any sentence will be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Benjamin K. Kleinman is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Amala James, Analisse Iniguez, and Veronica Hernandez. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI.