Delaware News

Seven Sentenced in Drug Trafficking Case

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Friday, March 20, 2015



WILMINGTON, DE – Members of a heroin distribution organization, involving inmates in the Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution and members in the Swanwyck and Collins Park areas of New Castle, received sentences for charges including drug trafficking, racketeering, and conspiracy

The leader of the crime ring, Irene Hollis, 35, of New Castle pled guilty to Tier 5 drug dealing, racketeering, and conspiracy to commit racketeering, and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Mary Miller Johnston to 25 years in prison.

While in prison on drug charges in 2012, Hollis made several phone calls to other members of her organization to discuss their drug dealing. She also made arrangements to smuggle oxycodone and heroin into the prison. The calls were detected by the Department of Correction’s Office of Internal Affairs.

Hollis was arrested again in June 2014 on drug and conspiracy charges.

The case was prosecuted for the Department of Justice, by Deputy Attorneys General Joseph Grubb, Kate Keller, David Holloway and Barzilai Axelrod.

The Chief Investigating Officer was Detective Peter Stewart of the New Castle County Police Department. The Department of Justice, Probation and Parole, Delaware State Police, Department of Correction, and the Delaware Army National Guard assisted the New Castle County Police Department in the execution of search warrants at various residences and multiple jail cells in the Howard Young Correctional Institute and Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution.

In addition to Hollis, the other defendants sentenced today were:

Aaron Hollis (Irene Hollis’s brother), 29, of New Castle, to 10 years at Level 5
Christopher Shweda, 35, of New Castle, was declared a Habitual Offender on Drug Dealing and sentenced to 6 years Level 5
Robert Garrett, 29, of New Castle, to 2 ½ years at Level 5
Arturo Guerrero, 22, of New Castle, to 18 months at Level 5
Sara Breeding, 34, of Greenwood, to 15 months at Level 5
Shannon Macey, 25, of New Castle, to 1 year at Level 3 probation.

Two additional defendants, Mallory Read, 28, of New Castle, and Chris Dougherty, 31, of New Castle, will be sentenced at a later date. Defendant Angel Ortiz, 30, of New Castle, previously pled guilty to racketeering, and is already serving a two year prison sentence.

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Seven Sentenced in Drug Trafficking Case

Criminal Division | Department of Justice | Department of Justice Press Releases | Date Posted: Friday, March 20, 2015



WILMINGTON, DE – Members of a heroin distribution organization, involving inmates in the Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution and members in the Swanwyck and Collins Park areas of New Castle, received sentences for charges including drug trafficking, racketeering, and conspiracy

The leader of the crime ring, Irene Hollis, 35, of New Castle pled guilty to Tier 5 drug dealing, racketeering, and conspiracy to commit racketeering, and was sentenced by Superior Court Judge Mary Miller Johnston to 25 years in prison.

While in prison on drug charges in 2012, Hollis made several phone calls to other members of her organization to discuss their drug dealing. She also made arrangements to smuggle oxycodone and heroin into the prison. The calls were detected by the Department of Correction’s Office of Internal Affairs.

Hollis was arrested again in June 2014 on drug and conspiracy charges.

The case was prosecuted for the Department of Justice, by Deputy Attorneys General Joseph Grubb, Kate Keller, David Holloway and Barzilai Axelrod.

The Chief Investigating Officer was Detective Peter Stewart of the New Castle County Police Department. The Department of Justice, Probation and Parole, Delaware State Police, Department of Correction, and the Delaware Army National Guard assisted the New Castle County Police Department in the execution of search warrants at various residences and multiple jail cells in the Howard Young Correctional Institute and Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution.

In addition to Hollis, the other defendants sentenced today were:

Aaron Hollis (Irene Hollis’s brother), 29, of New Castle, to 10 years at Level 5
Christopher Shweda, 35, of New Castle, was declared a Habitual Offender on Drug Dealing and sentenced to 6 years Level 5
Robert Garrett, 29, of New Castle, to 2 ½ years at Level 5
Arturo Guerrero, 22, of New Castle, to 18 months at Level 5
Sara Breeding, 34, of Greenwood, to 15 months at Level 5
Shannon Macey, 25, of New Castle, to 1 year at Level 3 probation.

Two additional defendants, Mallory Read, 28, of New Castle, and Chris Dougherty, 31, of New Castle, will be sentenced at a later date. Defendant Angel Ortiz, 30, of New Castle, previously pled guilty to racketeering, and is already serving a two year prison sentence.

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , , , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.