The Federal Correctional Institution, Mendota (FCI Mendota) is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates in California. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. The facility also has an adjacent satellite prison camp housing minimum-security male offenders.
FCI Mendota is located in central California, 36 miles west of Fresno.[1]
History
FCI Mendota opened in January 2012 after years of funding delays. The final cost of construction was $235 million. Mendota Mayor Robert Silva was pleased about the new jobs and revenue for local businesses that the prison would provide and encouraged the Bureau of Prisons to hire as many local residents as it could.[2][3]
Facility and inmate life
FCI Mendota is located on 960 acres and is enclosed with a 12-foot-high razor wire fence. Inside the facility, inmates have access to educational programs where they may work toward their GED certificate and gain vocational training. Prisoners are required to work on a number of duties, ranging from food preparation in the dining hall to maintenance work. A recreation yard has basketball courts, a soccer field and a track.
Inmates sleep in seven- by twelve-foot cells, complete with toilet and sink. They have access to a common area where they can exercise, shower, and watch basic cable television.
Official counts are conducted at 12:05 a.m., 3 a.m., 5 a.m., 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. The 4 p.m. and 10 p.m. counts are known as "standing counts," during which inmates must stop what they are doing and stand up even if they are in bed. An additional standing count is held at 10 a.m. on holidays and weekends.[4]
Served an 11-year sentence; released November 3, 2020, from a Residential Reentry Facility in Dallas, TX
Convicted for his role in a 2010 incident during which a group of Hispanic men were threatened and run off the road; accomplice Sean Popejoy was sentenced to 4 years; the first individuals sentenced under the 2009 Hate Crimes Prevention Act.[5]
Serving a 60 year sentence, scheduled for release in 2025
Former member of the white supremacist group The Order. Convicted in 1987 of conspiracy, racketeering, and robbery. Sentenced to 60 years in prison.[7]
Serving a 25-year sentence; scheduled for release 2032.
Colombian Drug Lord; known as "Rasguño", member of the Norte Del Valle Cartel. On October 18, 2008, Gomez pleaded guilty to racketeering charges in a Washington court. He also admitted sending over 500,000 kilograms of cocaine to America through Mexico between 1990 and 2004 as well as conspiracy to make and distribute more than 10,000 kilograms of cocaine destined for the US.[10]
Sentence on March 28, 2024 included order to forfeit $11 billion.[11] A prison transfer process to Mendota reportedly began on May 22, 2024.[12] On May 26, 2024 his current BOP inmate location indicated Oklahoma City Federal Transfer Center.
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