FRESNO, CALIF. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - California, Eastern), published as received.

FRESNO, Calif. — Rachel Bernal, aka Rachel Bernal Dunn, 48, of Victorville, and her husband, Rodney Dunn, 48, who is incarcerated at Kern Valley State Prison (KVSP) due to a 1996 first degree murder conviction, have been indicted for bribing an employee of KVSP to smuggle fentanyl, methamphetamine, cell phones, and other contraband into the prison, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court records, from January through September 2025, Bernal and Dunn paid a janitor at KVSP over $7,500 to smuggle contraband into the prison. Bernal would meet the janitor at hotels in Delano, where she would give him the contraband and pay him through electronic payments and cash. The janitor would then smuggle the contraband into the prison in various ways, including by concealing the items in his lunch bag. Due to increasing levels of contraband found in KVSP, officials began conducting enhanced security inspections of employees. These enhanced security inspections resulted in the janitor being caught in September 2025. 

Authorities executed a search warrant on Bernal’s Victorville home on August 20, 2026, after which Bernal was taken into custody. She is scheduled to make her initial appearance on August 20, 2026. Dunn is in the process of being transferred from state custody into federal custody and is scheduled to make his initial appearance on August 28, 2026. 

This case is the product of an investigation by the FBI and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Office of Internal Affairs. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Arelis Clemente and Joseph Barton are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Bernal faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison as well as a $10,000,000 fine. Dunn faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison as well as a $20,000,000 fine. Dunn faces higher penalties than Bernal due to his prior murder conviction. The janitor has pleaded guilty and is scheduled to be sentenced in December 2025. He faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison as well as a $10,000,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.