PRISON GUARD PLEADS GUILTY TO SMUGGLING

A former Lompoc prison guard faces time on the other side of the bars after
pleading guilty to accepting a $2,000 bribe to smuggle marijuana to an
alleged drug-dealing inmate in U.S. Penitentiary, Lompoc.

John Scott Brooks, 28, of Lompoc, was arrested Jan. 8 outside a Santa Maria
store after accepting delivery of two pounds of marijuana packaged in
"Cheez- It" boxes, according to court documents. Each contained 16
one-ounce baggies of marijuana.

He had agreed to place the boxes - the same size as those sold in the
prison commissary - in a trash closet in the penitentiary where the inmate
would retrieve them during his prison job.

Brooks pleaded guilty on Feb. 25 in Los Angeles federal court to one count
of bribery of a public official. A second charge of providing contraband in
prison was dropped in a written plea agreement signed last month by Brooks,
his lawyer and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Andrues.

He is free on $25,000 bond until his sentencing on May 23.

Bribery of a prison official carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in
prison. Brooks' Santa Monica lawyer and the prosecutor have agreed that a 6
to 12 month sentence is appropriate in this case, according to Thom Mrozek,
spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles. He said the
sentence is based on federal sentencing guidelines.

However, the agreement is not binding in court. Judge J. Spencer Letts will
have the final discretion in sentencing, weighing other factors in the
case, including Brooks' possible criminal history.

Court papers show that investigators checked his background during this
investigation and found his criminal record to be clear.

The agreement also hinges on Brooks verbally admitting to the charge at
sentencing.

The agreement is different from state courts, Mrozek said, where you can
plea to another charge in exchange for leniency even though you may not
have committed the crime.

"In federal court, you plead guilty because you did it, not because of any
promises being made to you by the government," Mrozek said.

Brooks resigned his position as a guard at the prison on March 2, according
to Joe Henderson, executive assistant at the Lompoc Penitentiary.

Court papers show the investigation into Brooks' actions began in early
September 1999. That was shortly after an unidentified inmate - being
interviewed about an unrelated prison assault - told a prison investigator
that Brooks had smuggled drugs to him on two previous occasions through his
girlfriend and another inmate.

According to court papers, the informant said the two men split the
delivered drugs.

Members of the Santa Barbara Regional Enforcement Team and Santa Maria FBI
officials used the help of these three people to arrange the January drug
sting where Brooks was arrested.

Mrozek declined to say if a deal was struck or action has been taken with
regards to the informants.

The inmate informant also reported that another inmate in the prison had
used Brooks to smuggle marijuana, pornographic movies and baseball caps
into the prison.

Mrozek did not say whether these allegations were investigated and part of
any potential future charges, only saying "this (plea) will make the rest
of this case go away."