FCI Dublin officer 'Dirty Dick' dressed as cowboy at prison, spanked women in cells: court testimony

OAKLAND, Calif. - Testimony during the trial of a former FCI Dublin correctional officer has revealed many specific details about Darrell Wayne "Dirty Dick" Smith's alleged actions when he worked at the now-closed women's prison, including peeling back shower curtains to masturbate, spanking women in their cells and withholding their mail if they wouldn't flash them their breasts or have sexual encounters with him. 

Dressed as a cowboy

And on top of those sex crime accusations, another unusual allegation has emerged from the witness box: Smith dressed as a cowboy at work. 

Multiple women have testified during his trial, which began Monday, that Smith did not wear the prescribed Bureau of Prisons uniform for which they get an annual $800 stipend.

Instead, he often wore a cowboy hat, cowboy boots, a chain necklace and a button-down shirt, open halfway to his chest, the women testified. 

"He just did whatever the hell he wanted," Tess Korth, Smith's former supervisor at FCI Dublin, told KTVU in a phone interview outside of court. 

Korth said she reported Smith's behavior to management over the years and no one did anything about it.

Another woman testified: "Just the way he walked around, like he owned that place." 

When KTVU asked how could it be that a correctional officer could show up to work dressed as a cowboy, BOP spokesman Benjamin O'Cone said the agency "does not comment on pending litigation or matters that are the subject of legal proceedings."

He did provide a 93-page BOP handbook, however, which states in chapter 9 that officers must wear a uniform. 

Back when Smith was an officer, the standard BOP uniform was a black button-down shirt, vest and pants with an American flag patch on the shoulder. 

15-count indictment 

Smith was charged with in 15-count indictment, accusing him of abusing five women between 2016 and 2021. 

The exact charges are abusive sexual contact, sexual abuse of a ward, aggravated sexual abuse and deprivation of rights under color of law. 

Of the eight correctional officers charged with similar sex crimes at FCI Dublin – the most of any other prison in the country – five have pleaded guilty and two were found guilty by a jury, including former Warden Ray Garcia, who is serving a nearly six-year prison sentence. 

Smith is the last of the eight officers to be charged and go to trial. 

Smith's defense team, Naomi Chung and Joanna Sheridan, have told the 10-man, 2-women jury that the witnesses are not to be believed because they are convicted felons and there is no physical evidence, like pictures, of what the incarcerated women say occurred.

During the trial, Smith has not dressed in cowboy attire. 

He looks very businesslike, wearing suits and has listened attentively as women have accused him of a variety of sex crimes  in the Oakland courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers. 

He and his lawyers have declined comment outside of court. 

The trial is expected to last at least 12 days, and the prosecution expects to rest its case by Wednesday of next week.

It's unclear at this point if Smith will take the stand. 

Women's testimony 

More than half a dozen women have testified so far about Smith. 

Some were released from prison early on "compassionate release" because of what Smith allegedly did to them. Others are still incarcerated in other prisons around the country because the BOP shut FCI Dublin down in the spring of 2024.

All the women have painted a picture of a two-sided Smith: He could be nice when he wanted something and mean and angry if he didn't get it. 

Many also testified that Smith didn't do his job or mete out discipline to women if it was warranted. He had been demoted from a counselor to an officer at some point, which has yet to be fully explained. 

Laundry room 

A woman named Lea, who was freed 18 months early from prison on compassionate release, testified that Smith fingered her in the laundry room some time around 2020 and 2021, which made her feel "disgusting."

"I think he was rough on purpose," she testified on Wednesday. "It was a power trip."

She didn't report his behavior for a while, thinking it would only get her in trouble for speaking up. 

But one day, she said she was fed up and told him: "I could tell on you. I could say something."

His response?

"He just laughed at me and said something like, ‘it pays to know people in high places,’" Lea testified.  

Spanking, withholding mail

Another woman, Claudia, was flown in from FCI Tallahassee in Florida, where she was taken after FCI Dublin closed down. She arrived at FCI Dublin in 2019 after being convicted on cocaine conspiracy charges. 

"He was arrogant, he did as he pleased," Claudia testified on Wednesday about Smith's overall demeanor. "He was not professional." 

But at some point, he became nicer to her, going to her cell to talk with her on her balcony, rubbing her arm and back when they talked. He brought her lingerie, socks and candy. 

"I had heard rumors about him," she testified. "He made me feel uncomfortable. He could be nice and then he could change moods and be aggressive." 

Claudia said Smith would often come into her cell and spank her to get up and "get ready for him." 

Other times, he would threaten to withhold her husband's mail from her if she wouldn't be his "girlfriend" or "show him my boobs."

She described another time when he stood outside her shower, peeling back the curtain to "rub his penis."

All of this made her feel "violated, incompetent and weak," she testified. "He was showing me the power he had. It was scary." 

Claudia said that despite her fear, she regularly told him to F-off. 

But she couldn't always resist his advances.

Everyone at FCI Dublin, from the incarcerated women to other officers, called him "Dirty Dick," Claudia and other witnesses have testified, noting that even his colleagues laughed at him behind his back.

As to his dress at work, Claudia described his cowboy outfit in detail in the courtroom. 

When asked by Asst. U.S. Attorney Andrew Paulson if it was common for other guards to dress like that, Claudia simply answered: No. 

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