Contact: Joel B. Casey
Assistant United States Attorney
Tel: (207) 945-0373

Bangor, Maine: United States Attorney Thomas E. Delahanty II announced that Shayne Ellis, 30,
of Brewer, Maine, was sentenced today in U.S. District Court in Bangor by Chief District Judge John A.
Woodcock, Jr. to five and a half years imprisonment, and 3 years of supervised release and was ordered
to pay $2,490.91 in restitution for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute controlled substances,
being a felon in possession of a firearm and pharmacy robbery. He pled guilty to the offenses on March
30, 2012.

The charges stem from Ellis’ involvement in the distribution of diverted pharmaceuticals and
MDPV (the active ingredient in “bath salts”) in the Bangor area in 2011. According to Court records, Ellis
was arrested in Brewer on November 4, 2011 and agents seized diverted pharmaceuticals and several
thousand dollars in cash. Ellis admitted he had been selling drugs for over a year.

On November 22, 2011, Ellis was arrested at a Brewer motel and agents seized diverted
pharmaceuticals, nearly 400 grams of MDPV, a loaded handgun and several thousand dollars in
cash. Ellis admitted that he had been selling drugs to support his own addiction. Because Ellis had a
2007 conviction for felony drug trafficking, he was prohibited from possessing the firearm.

On November 27, 2011 Ellis was arrested after robbing the Rite Aid pharmacy in Caribou,
Maine. According to Court records, Ellis entered the pharmacy, loaded a cart with merchandise and
went to the pharmacy counter, which he vaulted. Ellis demanded oxycodone and made statements
about a firearm. A pharmacy technician gave Ellis more than $2,000 worth of oxycodone. Ellis jumped
back over the counter, fled the pharmacy with the merchandise and oxycodone and joined an associate
then waiting in a car. The two drove off with the stolen oxycodone and merchandise. Caribou Police
Department Officers arrested the two a short distance away.

The investigation was conducted by the Maine Drug Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Drug
Enforcement Administration, the Brewer and Caribou Police Departments and the Penobscot County
Sheriff’s Office.

 

 

 

 

 

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