It is operated by the Federal Bureau of Prisons, a division of the United States Department of Justice. It is in proximity to Minute Maid Park.The facility, opened in October 1999, has space for 1,118 prisoners and was built for $35 million. The 11 story facility serves people awaiting trial in the Southern District of Texas.Notable incidentsIn March 2008 a fistfight between two inmates grew into a disturbance which resulted in minor injuries for three employees and eight prisoners.In April 2008, inmate Joel Lopez was indicted for conspiring to commit kidnapping and murder-for-hire for plotting to kill US District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa from FDC Houston. Hinojosa had sentenced Lopez to life in prison for a February 2006 drug conviction. The indictment alleged that Lopez approached a fellow inmate, who was affiliated with the Latin Kings street gang and was due to be released shortly, and offered to pay the inmate $2 million to kill Hinojosa and an unidentified woman who owed Lopez a drug debt. Lopez instructed the inmate to contact his wife, Aracely Lopez-Gonzalez, and provided him with her contact information. Lopez thought that Hinojosa's death would help the pending appeal of Lopez's sentence.
