Gallia County Sheriff Matt Champlin and Gallia County Prosecuting Attorney Jason Holdren have released a joint statement regarding today’s sentencing of Kelsey Shannon, age 22, of Columbus, Ohio, on July 2, 2019 in the Gallia County Common Pleas Court.
According to Prosecutor Holdren, “Kelsey Shannon, was arrested by the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office on November 11, 2018 as a result of an early morning traffic stop where approximately 100 grams of cocaine was seized. Today, Ms. Shannon, was sentenced by Judge Margaret Evans to serve a mandatory prison term of 5 years to be served in the Ohio Reformatory for Women, a prison in Marysville, Ohio. Ms. Shannon was convicted of two separate charges resulting from this incident, which were Trafficking in Cocaine, a felony of the first degree, and Tampering with Evidence, a felony of the third degree. I am extremely pleased with the diligent efforts of the two young deputies who worked this investigation. Since Ms. Shannon was arrested, she has remained in the custody of the Gallia County Sheriff’s Office and that custody will now be transferred to the Ohio Department of Corrections.”
According to Sheriff Champlin, “This investigation is a result of a deputies who were practicing proactive policing and performed a traffic stop on a vehicle for a traffic violation. Based upon the initial stop coupled with the deputies using his training and experience, it quickly changed from a traffic stop to a major criminal investigation and it prevented a large quantity of this poison from being distributed in our county. To say that I’m proud of my staff for their diligent efforts is an understatement. This is just another example of how we are working day and night to eliminate the criminal element from our communities.”
