SCRANTON - The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that on July 13, Shannon Higgins, age 37, a federal inmate was sentenced by United States District Judge Malachy Mannion in Scranton to 70 months of imprisonment for possession with the intent to distribute heroin, and for attempting to provide heroin to other inmates.
Higgins previously pleaded guilty to a crimnal information charging him with smuggling approximately 17 grams of heroin, equivalent of approximately 680 doses, into the United States Penitentiary Canaan (USP-Canaan). At the time of the offense on August 7, 2015, Higgins was serving a ten-year term of imprisonment, for a prior armed assault offense. Judge Mannion ordered that the 70-month sentence be served consecutive to Higgins’s current term of imprisonment.
This case was brought as part of a district wide initiative to combat the nationwide epidemic of the use and distribution of heroin. Led by the United States Attorney’s Office, the heroin initiative targets heroin traffickers operating in the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is part of a coordinated effort among federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and by officers from USP Canaan. Assistant United States Attorney Phillip J. Caraballo prosecuted the case.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
