United States Drug Enforcement Administration

SOUTH BEND, Indiana – Alfred A. Cooke, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Drug Enforcement Administration-Merrillville, Indiana, and U.S. Attorney Clifford D. Johnson for the Northern District of Indiana announced that Shanell Medina-Hipolite, 24, of Chicago, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Damon R. Leichty after pleading guilty to possession with intent to distribute fentanyl.

Medina-Hipolite was sentenced to 48 months in prison followed by five years of supervised release.

According to documents in the case, in October 2019, law enforcement conducted a traffic stop on Medina-Hipolite’s car on the toll road. A search of the vehicle resulted in the seizure of over one kilogram of fentanyl.

This case was investigated by the DEA with the assistance of the Hobart Police Department. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Frank E. Schaffer.