Dana Diane Shay, a 37-year-old resident of Fountain Valley, California, has been sentenced to 17 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine. According to court evidence, Shay was involved in two drug deliveries in Charlotte, North Carolina during 2020. On November 25 of that year, she delivered 29 pounds of methamphetamine. She returned on December 7 and delivered an additional 50 pounds of methamphetamine along with 45 pounds of marijuana.
Shay was arrested on federal drug trafficking charges in December 2020 and arraigned in Greenville, South Carolina, where she was released on bond. In August 2021, she removed her ankle monitor and fled supervision, remaining a fugitive until her arrest out of state in August 2024. She was then transported back to South Carolina to face her charges. The court increased her sentence due to her decision to abscond.
United States District Judge Donald C. Coggins sentenced Shay to 204 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release. The court also imposed a $300,000 money judgment against her.
“This prosecution is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) investigation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles the highest-level drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs, and transnational criminal organizations that threaten the United States by using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies against criminal networks. Additional information about the OCDETF Program can be found at https://www.justice.gov/OCDETF.”
The investigation involved several agencies including Homeland Security Investigations Border Enforcement Security Task Force; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; Spartanburg County Sheriff’s Office; Cherokee County Sherriff’s Office; Greenville County Sheriff’s Office; Greenville Police Department; Greenville County Multi-Jurisdictional Drug Enforcement Unit; South Carolina Department of Corrections Office of Inspector General; and Anderson County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jamie Schoen prosecuted the case.
