Centreville Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Heroin Overdose Death

ALEXANDRIA, VA—Skylar Marti Schnippel, 20, of Centreville, Va., was sentenced to 20 years in prison today. United States District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema sentenced Schnippel to a total of 240 months of imprisonment on his convictions for conspiracy to distribute one kilogram or more of heroin, possession with intent to distribute heroin, and distribution of heroin, all resulting in the death of Alicia Lannes on March 5, 2008.

Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Colonel David Rohrer, Fairfax County Chief of Police; and Joseph Persichini Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the sentencing hearing today. This prosecution was part of “Operation Smackdown,” involving a heroin trafficking ring in Centreville, Va., that led to the heroin overdose deaths of at least four area young adults.

“We hope this sentence will be a strong deterrent to other young people. If you traffic these deadly drugs, you’re throwing your life away and putting your friends’ lives in peril,” said Dana J. Boente, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “Our thoughts and condolences are with those who have lost loved ones as a result of this conspiracy, and our thanks go to the men and women who brought those responsible to justice.”

“I want to thank the impressive investigators who worked tirelessly to provide answers to the family in the death of this young lady,” said Joseph Persichini, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office. “Through the cooperation from Fairfax County Police and the Washington Field Office, investigators successfully disrupted the flow of a dangerous drug to sellers in this community and brought the persons responsible for the death of Alicia Lannes to justice.”

Schnippel was convicted of the drug charges after a trial on May 5, 2009.  On May 4, 2009, Schnippel also pleaded guilty to obstructing justice. Court documents reveal Schnippel attempted on at least three occasions to have one witness lie to the grand jury investigating these crimes.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office and the Fairfax County Police Department and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Erik R. Barnett, Daniel J. Grooms and Lauren A. Wetzler.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pacer.login.uscourts.gov.