FCI Mendota (medium-security)

FCI Mendota. Public domain photograph, via Wikimedia Commons.

FCI Mendota is a medium-security federal correctional institution for men in Mendota, California, operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It held about 682 people as of November 2025. It does not offer the Residential Drug Abuse Program. The institution's main number is 559-274-4000.

MALE

Gender

MEDIUM

Security Level

682

Population (Nov. 2025)

No RDAP

Location

Physical location: MENDOTA, CA 93640

Mailing address: 33500 WEST CALIFORNIA AVENUE, MENDOTA, CA 93640

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, Mendota is a medium-security U.S. federal prison for adult men in Fresno County, California, roughly 36 miles west of the city of Fresno in the state's Central Valley. It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons and includes an adjacent minimum-security satellite prison camp for lower-custody male offenders. The main institution and camp sit on a roughly 960-acre site enclosed by a 12-foot razor-wire perimeter fence. The facility was designed under a design-build project begun in fiscal year 2004, suffered years of funding delays, and finally opened in January 2012 at a reported construction cost of about $235 million. It was built to hold roughly 1,152 inmates in the main structure plus about 128 at the work camp; reported population snapshots have varied over the years, generally ranging from around 750 to well over 1,000 men in the main institution with roughly 100 to 130 at the camp.

Housing at the facility follows the standard BOP medium-security pattern. Men reside in general-population units, occupying cells of about seven by twelve feet that contain a toilet and sink. These individuals share common areas for showers, television, and exercise. Daily institutional movement is structured around counts, work details, meals, and recreation. Official inmate counts are conducted several times daily, typically occurring around 12:05 a.m., 3 a.m., 5 a.m., 4 p.m., and 10 p.m. Inmates are assigned to institution jobs such as food service, orderly, and maintenance work, while available recreation facilities include basketball courts, a soccer field, and a running track. Commissary purchases are capped at roughly $360 per month, although there are some exemptions for stamps and over-the-counter medications. Finally, communication runs through monitored phones, which provide about 300 minutes per month subject to 15-minute call limits. Additional approved communication methods include TRULINCS electronic messaging, video visiting by advance scheduling, and standard mail from approved vendors.

Programming at the facility emphasizes education and vocational training over intensive treatment tracks. The institution provides literacy and GED coursework, alongside vocational instruction that has included Building Trades, Automotive, Warehouse, Recycling, and Computer Literacy. Furthermore, FCI Mendota does not operate the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), which is a year-long treatment track that can carry up to a 12-month sentence reduction. Consequently, men seeking RDAP generally must request a transfer to another institution. As an alternative, Mendota provides lower-intensity substance-abuse options including a Drug Education class, the Non-Residential Drug Abuse Program (NR-DAP), and Alcoholics Anonymous. Lastly, the presence and scope of a UNICOR (Federal Prison Industries) factory at Mendota is not clearly documented in public sources and would require direct confirmation from the facility.

Situated in a hot Central Valley location, the relatively new facility at Mendota has attracted notice for staffing and operational problems that are typical throughout the modern BOP. Public reporting and oversight-related accounts have highlighted inadequate air conditioning during extreme heat, alongside periods when equipment such as pallet x-ray scanners for incoming supplies was not operational. Observers have linked these difficulties to the broader pattern of chronic understaffing, attrition, and budget pressure facing the Bureau. A BOP warden leads the institution, which, similar to other medium-security FCIs, combines a controlled-movement security posture with reentry-oriented education and work programs. Additionally, the co-located minimum-security camp operates on a separate, lower-custody footing, where placement is determined by custody-classification criteria applied through inmates' case managers.

Notable inmates

Name	Sentence	Offense	Dates
James Charles Kopp	Life imprisonment plus 10 years (federal); also 25-years-to-life on the New York state murder conviction	1998 sniper-rifle murder of Dr. Barnett Slepian, an Amherst, New York OB-GYN who performed abortions; convicted federally in connection with the killing and firearm use	Currently held at FCI Mendota
Jeremy Meeks	27 months in federal prison	Federal felon in possession of a firearm, arrested in a 2014 Stockton, California gang sweep; became internet-famous as the 'Hot Felon' after his viral mugshot	Incarcerated at FCI Mendota circa 2015; released 2016
Richard Scutari	60 years	Member of the white-supremacist terrorist group The Order; convicted of racketeering, conspiracy, and armored-car robbery	Held at FCI Mendota; reported released January 2025
Frankie Maybee	11 years	Federal hate crime for a 2010 racially motivated attack on Latino men in Arkansas; among the first sentenced under the 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act	Held at FCI Mendota; released November 2020
Luis Hernando Gomez Bustamante ('Rasguno')	About 25 years, with a projected release around 2032	Colombian drug lord tied to the Norte del Valle cartel; cocaine trafficking and conspiracy to import large quantities into the United States	Held at FCI Mendota