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MILWAUKEE (WISN) — U.S. Marshals swarmed a house near 28th and Wright streets Monday afternoon and arrested 37-year-old John Luckett. Prosecutors say Luckett had drugs inside the Milwaukee County Jail in May 2025, and he’s charged with giving them to his cellmate, who later overdosed and died.
That cellmate, 33-year-old Gabriel Muniz-Jimenez, died of an overdose after he was found unresponsive in his cell on May 21, 2025. Prosecutors say he had fentanyl, heroin and cocaine in his system.
Luckett was charged in May 2025 with having drugs inside the jail, on top of the gun charges that sent him to jail in the first place. Prosecutors filed the reckless homicide charge in January, but didn’t arrest Luckett until Monday.
Muniz-Jimenez was in custody since April 2024 for possession of methamphetamine. His criminal complaint says he told officers unknown people had been after him for a year, but no one believed him.
“The defendant then told officers he had illegal street drugs and he wanted to be arrested so he could be taken to a safe place,” Muniz-Jimenez’s complaint reads.
His sister, Cassandra Jimenez, tells WISN 12 News her brother struggled with mental health issues and used drugs to cope.
“It doesn’t matter if my brother passed away from an overdose,” she said. “He was a good person.”
She questions how drugs got into the jail in the first place.
“Milwaukee County Jail has to check everyone,” she said. “How is it possible that my brother passed away in jail for drugs? It’s not making any sense to me.”
A criminal complaint for Luckett says West Allis Police searched him on May 20, 2025. When he got to the jail, he went through a metal detector, pat-down, and a body scan.
“… if the baggies of drugs were tucked well into the genital area or swallowed…” the complaint reads, saying the bags would be difficult to detect.
The Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Office did not respond to several questions or an interview, as of 5 p.m. Tuesday. WISN 12 News asked for an interview, why the drugs were not caught, if MCSO conducted an internal investigation, if any policies changed, and if any deputies were reprimanded.
The West Allis Police Department said it searched him twice, in his underwear, during his arrest on May 20, 2025.
“These searches, as well as the circumstances of Luckett’s arrest, did not lead any WAPD member to request the permission of a supervisor to conduct a strip search of Luckett,” said Deputy Chief Robert Fletcher via email. “The WAPD does not conduct strip searches on all persons arrested for felonies.”
Fletcher says West Allis Police did not reprimand or discipline any officers because “… there was no basis to believe an improper search was conducted.”
“He was so kind, and fun and very loving,” said Jimenez, talking about her brother. “He always cared about other people.”
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