A custodian at San Quentin prison has been arrested on allegations he attempted to smuggle drugs inside and sell them to inmates.

Keith Reindeer Randle, a 55-year-old Bay Area resident, is facing federal charges that could mean up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Randle was arrested in late September and jailed until his first court appearance on Tuesday, when a judge agreed to release him while the case is pending, records show. His next court date has been set for Oct. 15.

On Aug. 15, when Randle showed up to work around 8 a.m., he was promptly informed that his car and possessions would be searched, according to the criminal complaint. While San Quentin staffers must sign a search consent form, this was no routine event, and prosecutors haven’t revealed whether prison authorities had received a tip about Randle’s alleged drug dealing.

Inside Randle’s backpack, the staff found a peanut butter jar containing approximately 300 grams of suspected methamphetamine and a smaller amount of cannabis oil. The staff also found $3,350 in cash, according to the criminal complaint.

Randle said the jar was not his. He told officers that he’d mistakenly grabbed a colleague’s peanut butter jar and sandwich the day before and was planning to put it back in the refrigerator, apparently unaware of the contents, the complaint says.

The prosecution said it has uncovered more than $75,000 in wire transfers that have come to Randle from either San Quentin inmates or their associates, including a woman married to a prisoner who paid Randle nearly $40,000 during a yearlong period starting in 2021. The woman also received approximately $93,000 in cash transfers from her husband and other San Quentin prisoners during the same time period, prosecutors allege.

Randle has worked at San Quentin since 2012 and received approximately $80,000 in pay and benefits last year, according to public payroll records. Prosecutors say that the suspicious wire transfers began in 2019.

Randle could not be reached for comment Thursday.