An Arizona man who prosecutors say helped funnel fentanyl into northeastern Pennsylvania and other states has been sentenced to 14 years in federal prison.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Malachy E. Mannion sentenced Shane Burns, 26, of Scottsdale, to 168 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release. Burns had already pled guilty to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute fentanyl.
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According to federal prosecutors, Burns was one of 15 people charged in February 2023 after investigators discovered a trafficking network that transported more than 400 grams of fentanyl into the region. According to the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, Burns served as the ringleader, forging connections with Mexican cartels to obtain fentanyl pills and coordinating their distribution in Wilkes-Barre, Scranton, and other nearby communities, as well as across multiple states.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Scranton office, the Wilkes-Barre Police Department, and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Gerard T. Donahue, an Assistant United States Attorney, supervised the prosecution.
