Ex-jail employee pleads no contest to smuggling drugs for sex with incarcerated women

A former Santa Clara County jail employee pleaded no contest Monday to charges that he smuggled drugs in exchange for sex with incarcerated women, a scandal highlighted in a recent watchdog report by the civilian monitor for the South Bay jails.

Marcos Pina Mejia, 56, entered the plea on the morning of his scheduled preliminary examination for two felony counts of bringing methamphetamine into the Elmwood women’s jail in Milpitas and two misdemeanor counts of having sex with a detained person. The alleged crimes reportedly occurred between July and November 2024, and he was criminally charged in January 2025, according to court records.

The prescribed sentence under the plea terms will be 364 days in county jail.

Deputy District Attorney Jason Malinsky told this news organization after the plea: “District Attorney Jeff Rosen will not tolerate corruption in our jails.”

Mejia’s attorney did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment Monday.

Authorities say Mejia was employed by the county sheriff’s office — which operates the county jails — as a food service worker tasked with transporting food carts into and between the primary jail facilities, Elmwood and the Main Jail in San Jose. The criminal allegations state that the illicit conduct occurred at Elmwood, which houses most of the county’s female jail population.

Mejia was fired by the sheriff’s office after he was charged, with neither action being publicized. It only gained wide public attention after the release in May of an annual audit by the Office of Correction and Law Enforcement Monitoring, the civilian oversight body for the sheriff’s patrol and jail operations.

After the drug and sex allegations were reported, Mejia was placed on leave. The audit report stated that a subsequent search of his work locker “revealed that this conduct was part of a prolonged pattern.”

The sheriff’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. But in a previous statement after Mejia’s crimes were detailed in the audit report, the agency said, “We take allegations of this nature seriously” and “This type of conduct is not tolerated.”

Sometime after the misconduct was reported, an anonymous complaint was submitted to the oversight office claiming that the sheriff’s office was aware of Mejia’s conduct for more than year but failed to take action. The sheriff’s office said, also in its previous statement, an investigation into the claim determined that it was unfounded.

Mejia is due back in court for formal sentencing Aug. 28.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.