A former correctional guard at the East Hidalgo Detention Center in La Villa filed a notice of intent to plead guilty to at least one of the two charges against him for allegedly taking a bribe to smuggle a cellphone to a federal inmate.
Jose Martinez Espinoza Jr. filed the notice Friday prior to a Monday morning court hearing for him and his co-defendants, Sixto Gonzalez Jr. and Abel Angel Solis.
Espinoza is charged with graft and bribery of public officials. Solis faces the same charges as Espinoza while Gonzalez is charged with bribery.
The indictment alleges that in late June, Gonzalez promised the jailer money for smuggling the cellphone.
Espinoza is accused of accepting the bribe and smuggling the cellphone into the jail while both Solis and Gonzalez are accused of promising Espinoza money.
Gonzalez has been in federal custody since November 2021 on a charge of hostage taking.
He is accused of holding a man hostage for ransom between June 23 and 25 of 2021. He has pleaded not guilty to that charge.
Gonzalez and Solis have pleaded not guilty to the bribery charges and remain jailed.
Espinoza is free on a $30,000 bond.
A re-arraignment date wasn’t available in online court records as of late Monday morning.
