Tiago Bettencourt, a 22-year-old federal inmate at FCI Schuylkill, was indicted yesterday by a federal grand jury on a charge of possessing a weapon. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced the indictment.
According to U.S. Attorney Brian D. Miller, Bettencourt allegedly possessed a prison-made weapon on February 27, 2026. The item was described as an approximately nine-inch sharpened piece of plexi-glass with a cloth handle, commonly known as a "shank."
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and the Special Investigative Services of the Federal Bureau of Prisons investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Luisa Honora Berti is prosecuting. The offense carries a maximum penalty of five years’ imprisonment, supervised release, and a fine. All charged individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty.