Charleston Woman Pleads Guilty To Federal Meth Trafficking

Friday, September 5, 2025, 1:30 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

CHARLESTON, W.VA.- A 36-year-old Charleston, West Virginia, woman will be facing up to twenty years in federal prison when she is sentenced later this year after pleading guilty on Wednesday to a federal narcotics crime.

     According to Acting U.S. Attorney Lisa G. Johnston, on Wednesday, September 3, 2025, Tiffany Dawn Shaffer, 36, of Charleston, West Virginia, appeared in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph R. Goodwin to Possession with Intent to Distribute a Controlled Substance, Methamphetamine.

     Following entering her guilty plea on Wednesday, Judge Goodwin accepted the plea and scheduled sentencing for December 15, 2025. At that time, Shaffer faces a mandatory minimum of ten years and up to 20 years in federal prison, as well as at least three years of supervised release and a fine of up to $1 million. At sentencing, a U.S. District Court Judge will determine the term of imprisonment based on the seriousness of the offense and Shaffer’s prior criminal history.

According To Charging Information Filed With The Court

     According to the charging information and statements made in the District Court, on June 17, 2025, members of the St. Albans Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle being operated by Shaffer near St. Albans, West Virginia. During the traffic stop, a Police Officer located and seized two pounds of methamphetamine from inside the vehicle. During her plea allocution on Wednesday, Shaffer admitted to Judge Goodwin that she possessed the methamphetamine that was found in the vehicle during the traffic stop.

     At the time of the instant offense, Shaffer was serving a term of supervised release after previously pleading guilty to the distribution of 5 grams or more of methamphetamine in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in June 2021. 

     Shaffer has an extensive criminal history, including convictions for conspiracy to operate a clandestine drug laboratory and being a prohibited person in possession of a firearm as a convicted felon.

     Acting U.S. Attorney Johnston commended the investigative work of the St. Albans Police Department and the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team for the arrest and Wednesday’s guilty plea by Shaffer.