OFFICER SUSPECTED IN SMUGGLING

A correctional officer at the U.S. Penitentiary in Lompoc was arrested
Saturday on suspicion of accepting cash in exchange for smuggling marijuana
into the prison.

John Scott Brooks, 28, was booked into the County Jail after an
investigation that began in October, according to FBI officials.

The Lompoc man could face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a
fine if convicted of accepting a bribe and attempting to introduce
contraband into a federal penal facility, officials said.

The investigation was conducted by the Santa Maria office of the FBI and
the Santa Barbara Regional Narcotic Enforcement Team, with assistance from
penitentiary investigators. Brooks was arrested in Santa Maria by officers
from the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department, the Santa Maria Police
Department and the California Highway Patrol.

Brooks will be scheduled to make an initial appearance before U.S.
Magistrate Willard W. McEwen Jr. in Santa Barbara.