A Virginia man was sentenced to 10 years in prison followed by five years of post-release supervision, after he pleaded guilty to illegally possessing thousands of pressed fentanyl pills, hundreds of pressed methamphetamine pills, and three loaded firearms, including a pistol modified to function as a machine gun.
On October 19, 2022, members of the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, Suffolk County Police Department and United States Marshals Service learned that Shanti Felton, 20, was hiding out at a residence in Bay Shore to avoid being apprehended for an alleged armed robbery that occurred in Virginia in May 2021. When they approached the residence, Felton attempted to flee through a basement window while armed with a fully automatic and loaded pistol that had no serial number and was modified to function as a machine gun. After a brief standoff with law enforcement, Felton dropped the pistol and surrendered.
Law enforcement then executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered two additional loaded firearms, 4,035 blue-pressed fentanyl pills, 220 orange-pressed methamphetamine pills, $5,510 in cash, and four cell phones. On October 30, 2023, Felton pleaded guilty to first-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance, a Class A-I felony, and second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a Class C violent felony, before Supreme Court Judge Anthony S. Senft Jr.
On January 16, 2024, Senft sentenced Felton to 10 years in prison followed by five years. of post-release supervision. The charges related to the alleged armed robbery that occurred in Virginia in May 2021 are still pending.
“This defendant was a drug and gun trafficker who posed a severe threat to the safety of our residents in Suffolk County due to his peddling of fentanyl-laced illicit drugs onto our streets and his cache of weapons,” said Suffolk County District Attorney Ray Tierney. “I want to thank the Suffolk County Police Department and the United States Marshals Service for apprehending this dangerous individual, as well as thank the prosecutors in my office for securing a just conviction and lengthy prison sentence.”