A Kenner woman, Shawna Martin, has pleaded guilty to multiple federal charges involving the distribution and intent to distribute the potent opioid, fentanyl. Martin, age 56, entered her plea on May 8, before United States District Judge Barry W. Ashe, and now faces significant prison time and fines under the Controlled Substances Act.
According to information disclosed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, over the course of two separate days in late summer of 2025, Martin was involved in transactions distributing a total of 720 fentanyl pills and was apprehended with an additional 861 pills on her person on September 20. The total weight of the narcotic amounted to just over 114 grams. Considering the extreme potency of fentanyl, which is said to be 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, the quantity Martin handled represents a significant threat to public health.
As per the details of the case, Martin's conviction includes one count of distribution of a quantity of fentanyl, and two counts involving forty grams or more of the same substance. For the first count, Martin faces up to twenty years of imprisonment and a fine reaching $1,000,000.00. The other counts to which Martin has pled guilty carry a mandatory minimum of five years and could stretch to forty in prison, with fines up to $5,000,000.00, alongside four years of supervised release and a mandatory special assessment fine, both instances carry a cost of $100.
The investigation that led to Martin's conviction was spearheaded by the Drug Enforcement Administration and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn E. Schiffman of the Narcotics Unit.
