FCI El Reno (medium-security)
FCI El Reno is a medium-security federal correctional institution for men in El Reno, Oklahoma, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It held about 991 people as of November 2025. It does not offer the Residential Drug Abuse Program. The institution's main number is 405-262-4875.[1][2]
Location
Physical location: EL RENO, OK 73036
Mailing address: 4205 HIGHWAY 66 WEST, EL RENO, OK 73036
Visitation
There are many specific rules and procedures to be aware of when you're considering visiting the institution. Read more on our Visitation Guide.
For full, current visiting rules and scheduling, always check the institution's official page on the Bureau of Prisons website: Official BOP Page.
Daily life and programs
The Federal Correctional Institution, El Reno is a medium-security United States federal prison for male inmates located in El Reno, in Canadian County, Oklahoma, roughly 30 miles west of Oklahoma City. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons within the agency's South Central Region. The main institution holds approximately 960 medium-security men, and an adjacent satellite prison camp houses lower-risk minimum-security inmates, bringing the combined population to somewhere between about 1,000 and 1,100 depending on the source and count date. A distinctive feature is that El Reno retains a working agricultural operation of more than 240 acres, one of only two remaining farm facilities anywhere in the federal prison system.
Commencing operations on April 4, 1933, the institution was originally named the United States Southwestern Reformatory. Its initial inmates were transferred from the United States Penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, the Federal Reformatory at Chillicothe, Ohio, and the Federal Prison Camp at Fort Riley, Kansas. Administrators renamed the site the Federal Reformatory, El Reno in 1938, and for decades it specialized in housing young adult men roughly aged 18 to 26. During the late 1970s, the facility began receiving medium-security prisoners of all ages and evolved into a general Federal Correctional Institution. The complex subsequently expanded when a satellite camp opened in 1980. On July 16, 2015, President Barack Obama toured FCI El Reno, marking the first visit by a sitting U.S. president to a federal prison.
Work and vocational training serve as central components of daily life at the institution. All medically able inmates are required to hold a job, with assignments ranging from institutional maintenance and food service to farm labor. Additionally, the facility operates a UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) shop focused on metal fabrication and welding. Advanced occupational education at the main institution covers Culinary Arts, Electrical, Plumbing, Purchasing Agent, and Welding, while the camp introduces Diesel Repair and Horticulture tied to the farm operation. Standard education services are widely available, incorporating adult literacy, GED preparation, English-as-a-Second-Language, parenting, and Adult Continuing Education courses. Notably, FCI El Reno does not host the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP). Therefore, inmates seeking that treatment and its associated sentence credit generally must transfer to another institution.
As a medium-security institution, the facility features day-to-day conditions that fall between the relative openness of a minimum-security camp and the tighter controls of a penitentiary. The environment is maintained through structured counts, controlled movement, and unit-team case management. Recreation includes basketball and handball courts, softball fields, a jogging track, weight and cardio equipment, table games, and hobby crafts. Communication and commissary access follow standard BOP rules, including a monthly commissary spending cap, limits on telephone minutes allotted per month, and the TRULINCS electronic messaging system for email. The prison has also had recorded escapes that drew public attention. For example, Carlos Brewster fled the minimum-security camp in December 2004 and was recaptured about three weeks later in East Los Angeles. In a separate incident, Joe Villarreal escaped in August 2011 and was caught the same day in the town of El Reno.
Notable inmates
| Name | Sentence | Offense | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lontrell Williams Jr. (Pooh Shiesty) | 63 months | Conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition (linked to a 2020 shooting in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida) | Housed at FCI El Reno as of August 2024; released October 2025 |
| Christopher Faulkner | 15 years | Investor fraud and tax evasion (Texas oil-and-gas executive) | Projected release 2030 |
| Joel Lopez Sr. | Life | Drug trafficking; convicted in 2009 of a plot to hire a gang member to kidnap and murder U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa | |
| Jon Woods | 220 months | Mail fraud conspiracy, wire fraud, and money laundering (former Arkansas state senator) | Later held at FCI Bastrop; projected release 2033 |
| Diego Montoya Sanchez | 45 years | Cocaine trafficking as a leader of Colombia's Norte del Valle cartel (former FBI Ten Most Wanted) | Formerly at El Reno; since transferred to FCI Petersburg; projected release 2045 |
| Chuck Zito | 10 years (sentenced 1990) | Methamphetamine distribution conspiracy (Hells Angels Nomads chapter president) |
References
- ↑ Federal Bureau of Prisons, "FCI El Reno," institution page. https://www.bop.gov/locations/institutions/ere/ (accessed 2026-08-05)
- ↑ Federal Bureau of Prisons, "Population Statistics." https://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/population_statistics.jsp (accessed 2026-08-05)