Charges Filed In Drug Ring Run From Jail

Federal search warrants paint Shawn Michael Pennington as a man who ran a cocaine ring while locked up in the Southwest Virginia Regional Jail last year.

The 34-year-old Chilhowie, Va., man could face life in prison now that a federal grand jury has indicted him on drug charges.

Pennington and four of his alleged distributors were indicted on June 25. The U.S. Attorney’s Office announced the indictments Monday, the day the arrest warrant for each defendant was publicly filed in federal court.

Much of the evidence in federal files came from jailhouse telephone recordings of Pennington during his six-month sentence last year for probation violations stemming from a previous felony conviction.

According to federal search warrants, Pennington bickered with his grandmother over who to trust with the money and cocaine he left behind; he berated one of his drug-sellers for giving away too many pills; and he warned another seller not to deal for anyone else.

Of Pennington, Drug Enforcement Administration Agent Brian Snedeker wrote in a warrant: “He says that he built himself up and then comes to jail and everyone takes everything that he had.”
Pennington, according to a warrant, claimed over the phone to snort drugs while locked up.

Snedeker wrote that Pennington bought cocaine in Florida and brought it to Virginia to sell. In one phone call, Pennington boasted that he could make as much as $15,000 a month once released, Snedeker wrote.

Phone conversations show Pennington most trusted his grandmother, Nannie L. Cooper, 74, of Saltville, Va. She is charged with two counts of maintaining or controlling a place for distribution of controlled substances. Cooper could lose her house and property if found guilty.

Matthew Keith Hardin, 29, of Chilhowie, accompanied Pennington on two trips to Florida, a search warrant states. Hardin is charged with five counts of distributing cocaine, morphine and oxycodone, and one count of maintaining a place for distribution of controlled substances.

Erika Leigh Walls, 30, of Saltville, is charged with five counts of distribution of cocaine, morphine and oxycodone, and one count of maintaining a place for distribution of controlled substances.

Carla Fay Aistrop, 23, of Chilhowie, is charged with two counts of maintaining or controlling a place for distribution of controlled substances.

Pennington is charged with four counts of distributing cocaine, morphine, and oxycodone, one count of possessing a firearm after being convicted of a felony, and one count of maintaining a place for distribution of controlled substances.

Pennington could face a life sentence if convicted of the drug and weapon charges. The four people arrested with him would each face a maximum penalty of 40 years, if convicted.

| (276) 645-2549