A police chief in western Pennsylvania has been arrested for facilitating cross-country cocaine and methamphetamine deals.
Greensburg Police Chief Shawn Denning, 41, was charged with multiple drug offenses for helping orchestrate drug buys between a federal informant in Pennsylvania and dealers in California and Arizona, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Mr. Denning faces up to 20 years in federal prison for the charges.
Greensburg is located over 30 miles east of Pittsburgh.
From June 2021 and October 2022, Mr. Denning coordinated five separate purchases for the informant — two involving cocaine, and the others for Adderall — that were shipped through the U.S. Postal Service from the west coast to Pittsburgh.
Mr. Denning advised the informant to do the deals over messaging app Wickr due to it being “how all the heavy hitters conduct business it’s encrypted so virtually impossible to be intercepted ever,” according to the affidavit.
Most of the transactions went smoothly, however, the police chief gifted cornhole bags to the informant in October to make up for a $500 shipment of Adderall that never came through, according to court records.
Mr. Denning was released on a $250,000 unsecured bond.
• Matt Delaney can be reached at mdelaney@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.