Final IDOC correctional officer sentenced for crimes stemming from FBI sting
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The following is a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Idaho.
BOISE — Former Idaho Department of Correction (“IDOC”) correctional officer Erik Thompson was sentenced Wednesday for firearms offenses he committed as part of an FBI sting operation that uncovered corruption by IDOC correctional officers, U.S. Attorney Bart M. Davis announced. U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill sentenced Erik Thompson, 39, to 97 months in prison. Thompson will be placed on supervised release for three years after release from prison.
The FBI initiated the sting operation in this case at IDOC’s request to weed out corruption among IDOC correctional officers. The FBI was able to locate corrupt prison guards by using undercover agents who invited the guards to commit crimes outside of IDOC’s facilities. The defendants believed that the undercover agents they were assisting were large‑scale drug traffickers. The guards provided security and completed other tasks for the undercover agents during staged deliveries of drug loads and drug money. Thompson and co‑defendant Richard McCollough carried firearms with them during the staged drug operations. No drugs were in the sole possession of the defendants, and no drugs or other contraband were brought into any IDOC facility as part of these operations.
Thompson pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. Co-defendant McCollough also pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime. McCollough also was sentenced to 97 months in prison by Judge Winmill.
Co-defendants Timothy Landon and Robert Wallin each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to aid and abet drug trafficking. Landon was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Wallin was sentenced to 37 months in prison. All defendants will be placed on supervised release for three years after release from prison.
In addition to the FBI, the Boise Police Department, the Meridian Police Department, IDOC’s Special Investigations Unit, and the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office participated in this investigation.