California Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Shipping Marijuana to Nebraska

Acting United States Attorney Susan Lehr announced that Shawn Thomas, 34, of Roseville, California, was sentenced on November 29, 2023, in federal court in Omaha, Nebraska, for conspiracy to distribute 50 kilograms or more of marijuana. United States District Court Judge Brian C. Buescher sentenced Thomas to 60 months’ imprisonment. There is no parole in the federal system. After Thomas’s release from prison, he will begin a three-year term of supervised release.

Thomas was identified as being involved in drug distribution as a result of an ongoing investigation into Thomas’ co-conspirators. From approximately October 2018 to December 2020, conspirators regularly shipped multi-pound boxes of marijuana from the Sacramento, California, area to Omaha, where other conspirators would distribute it. These shipments were made via the United States mail and commercial shipping services like FedEx. A 22.5-pound box of marijuana was seized from an Omaha residence on December 18, 2020. Thomas was in the residence at the time of the search with three co-defendants.

Review of FedEx shipping records and conspirators’ cell phone messages determined that Thomas was responsible for mailing the packages. At the sentencing hearing, Judge Buescher found that Thomas was responsible for conspiring to distribute at least 100 kilograms (220.4 pounds) of marijuana.

The three other co-defendants were sentenced earlier this year. Aarion Jenkins, 29, and Marques Eiland, 29, both of Omaha were sentenced to 40 months and 31 months respectively. Julio Ayala, 33, of Sacramento was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Omaha Police Department, and Sacramento County (California) Sheriff’s Office.

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.