Louisiana: Whitney Shaw Sentenced to 50 Months and Inmate Justin Shaw to 51 Months in USP-Pollock Drug Smuggling Scheme
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Louisiana announced that a drug smuggling scheme at the United States Penitentiary in Pollock (USP-Pollock), in Grant Parish, Louisiana, ended in sentencing on October 23. Whitney Shaw, 42, of Coldwater, Mississippi, was sentenced to 50 months in federal prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for providing contraband in prison. Justin Shaw, 40, an inmate at the facility, was sentenced to 51 months in federal prison for possessing contraband in prison.
According to court documents, on January 20, 2025, Whitney Shaw visited Justin Shaw at USP-Pollock. Surveillance footage captured her removing an object from her pants and handing it to him. Staff immediately removed Justin Shaw from the visitation area, and examination determined the object was 33.4 grams of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol wax, a prohibited substance inside the prison. Justin Shaw admitted to knowingly obtaining and attempting to obtain contraband from Whitney Shaw.
A further search of Whitney Shaw revealed additional contraband concealed in her clothing, including 17.3 grams of synthetic cannabinoid paper, 73.634 grams of delta-9 tetrahydrocannabinol, and 8.554 grams of methamphetamine, all confirmed by laboratory testing. Whitney Shaw admitted that she knowingly provided and attempted to provide the prohibited objects to Justin Shaw.
Both defendants had previously pleaded guilty: Justin Shaw on June 24, 2026, and Whitney Shaw on June 23, 2026. United States District Judge Jerry Edwards Jr. imposed the sentences. U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller said smuggling drugs into prisons endangers guards, inmates, and other personnel, and that his office stands ready to prosecute anyone, including inmates' family members, who perpetrates the crime.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation and correctional staff at USP-Pollock investigated the case. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cheyenne Y. Wilson, with assistance from Legal Assistant Amanda Morgan. The case numbers are 1:25-cr-00205-01 (Justin Shaw) and 1:25-cr-00205-02 (Whitney Shaw).
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：路易斯安那州 Alexandria 的美国邮局与联邦法院大楼，本案在此宣判。Carol M. Highsmith 摄，公共领域，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / The U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Alexandria, Louisiana, where the sentences were imposed. Photo by Carol M. Highsmith, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
