Skip to main content
Press Release

Martins Ferry, Ohio man convicted of cocaine trafficking

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of West Virginia

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Shanwdale Saunders, of Martins Ferry, Ohio, was sentenced today to 168 months incarceration for cocaine trafficking, Acting United States Attorney Betsy Steinfeld Jividen announced.

Shawndale Saunders, age 34, pled guilty to one count of “Conspiracy to Distribute 280 Grams or More of Cocaine Base” in June 2017. Throughout April and May 2016, Saunders admitted to conspiring with other individuals to transport cocaine across state lines from Ohio into West Virginia in order to possess and sell the drug in Ohio County, West Virginia. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen L. Vogrin prosecuted the case on behalf of the government. The Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative, and the Martins Ferry, Ohio Police Department investigated.

U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey presided.

Updated September 27, 2017
Topic
Drug Trafficking
Component
USAO - West Virginia, Northern

Related Content

Press Release
West Virginia Man Sentenced for Federal Drug Trafficking

Nelson Cortes, age 50, of Beverly, West Virginia, was sentenced to 65 months in federal prison for the distribution of methamphetamine. Cortes was selling methamphetamine, sometimes from his home, in...

Press Release
Three Sentenced in Fentanyl Drug Trafficking Operation in Eastern Panhandle

Three more have been sentenced for their roles in a drug trafficking organization. The indictment, returned in January 2024 charged 82 defendants, including Gary Brown, Jr., for their roles in...

Press Release
Maryland Man Sentenced for Firearms and Cocaine Convictions

John Ryan Zajac, age 31, of Parkville, Maryland, was sentenced to 135 months in federal prison for firearms and cocaine offenses. According to court documents and statements made in court...