UPDATE: (Tuesday, Nov 15) U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos ordered Hostetter to serve 24 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by two years of supervised release.
She has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
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United States Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery announced in a release that 55-year-old Gail Hostetter plead guilty to mailing methamphetamine-laced papers disguised as mail to the Coastal Bend Detention Center.
The release states that Hostetter, a Corpus Christi resident, knowingly and intentionally attempted to provide methamphetamines to an inmate.
On Jan. 29, 2021, she allegedly mailed a letter pretending to be from a local law firm.
A facility staff member retrieved the letter and sent it in for testing and it tested positive for meth.
A search warrant was executed on her home, where additional empty envelopes were found pre-addressed from various local law firms.
After an investigation, the release states the inmate formulated the plan and recruited Hostetter and others to mail the papers to the detention center.
As part of her plea, she also admitted to mailing meth into a jail facility on at least one other occasion, the release states.
A hearing to impose sentencing will take place on Oct. 18. At that time, Hostetter faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
Pending that hearing, she has been and will remain in custody.
