HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — A newly-released search warrant reveals an alleged organized crime ring operating from inside a Texas prison, involving hacked tablets, contraband smuggling, and even attempted drone drops.
Investigators with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Office of Inspector General say inmate William Patrick Alexander, 55, who is serving a life sentence for the 1992 murder of his 17-year-old girlfriend, was part of a network that has “grown in spite of law enforcement efforts to deter it.”
According to the warrant, Alexander and others allegedly hacked prison-issued tablets to carry out illegal operations behind bars, potentially giving inmates access to technology they were never meant to have.
Authorities say the operation extended beyond prison walls. Investigators believe Alexander worked with at least two people on the outside, including Rueneen Smith, 57, a civilian who has been arrested, and a former UTMB employee who previously worked inside the prison and is accused of smuggling high-tech contraband as well as tobacco.
The warrant states that Smith allegedly purchased and delivered items such as tablet parts, SIM cards, and prepaid cell phones while also communicating with Alexander. The former UTMB employee is accused of bringing those items inside and, at one point, was allegedly paid $1,000 via Cash App.
On Feb. 20, investigators seized 35 Securus tablets, the same kind used in Texas prisons, three cell phones, multiple thumb drives, and five computers from Smith’s tax office in southeast Houston and her home not far away. According to the warrant, the tablets were at various stages of modification, or “jailbroken.”
“It means modifying the device to give it capabilities it would not have otherwise, and it’s all over the map,” explained IT expert and licensed private investigator Colman Ryan, who reviewed the documents for ABC13. “You can turn these devices into the ultimate hacking tool. They can become a micro cell tower, and really the possibilities are infinite, and really powerful.”
Investigators say Alexander was also able to remotely use a computer and cell phone at Smith’s office to communicate with inmates in other states, including Florida and Georgia, in an effort to learn new hacking techniques. According to the warrant, he even indicated he was trying to learn how to hack systems to change inmate release dates.
Authorities also believe Alexander was tied to attempted drone drops into TDCJ facilities and efforts to bribe prison staff.
Ryan said schemes like this require coordination.
“It just blows me away what the criminals have done with technology,” he said, adding that access to this kind of technology behind bars “opens up a very broad horizon for criminal activity, payments, and in prison that equates to power.”
TDCJ confirmed the case remains an active investigation.
It began, the warrant says, after investigators accessed data from SIM cards and SD cards connected to Alexander’s tablet. He has since been transferred to another prison unit.
Attempts to reach Smith for comment were unsuccessful.
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