Two Ohio men sentenced for selling heroin, cocaine near WV playgrounds

WHEELING, WEST VIRGINIA – Shannon Jerome Hinton, 25, of Cleveland, Ohio, and Gregory Edward Allen, 28, of Bridgeport, Ohio, were sentenced in federal court today for selling heroin and cocaine near playgrounds located in the Northern District of West Virginia, United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced.

Hinton was sentenced today to 77 months in prison. He sold heroin in August 2014 near Clark Field Playground in Hancock County, West Virginia. He pled guilty in June 2015 to one count of “Aiding and Abetting the Distribution of Heroin within 1,000 Feet of a Protected Location,” following an investigation led by the Hancock, Brooke, Weirton Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative. The Columbiana County, Ohio Drug Task Force and Drug Enforcement Administration Youngstown, Ohio Field Office assisted in the investigation. 

Allen was sentenced today to 41 months in prison. He was discovered in possession of crack cocaine in February 2015 near Bridge Park, a playground located on Wheeling Island in Ohio County, West Virginia. He pled guilty in May 2015 to one count of “Possession with Intent to Distribute Cocaine Base within 1,000 Feet of a Protected Location,” following an investigation by the Ohio Valley Drug and Violent Crime Task Force, a HIDTA-funded initiative.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Perri prosecuted Allen and Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen Vogrin prosecuted Hinton on behalf of the government.

Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick P. Stamp presided.