Ex-Greensburg police chief resigned upon arrest on federal drug charges

Jan. 27—Shawn Denning is out of the Greensburg police station and off the city payroll.

Mayor Robb Bell confirmed Thursday that Denning "resigned immediately" as Greensburg's police chief when he was arrested Tuesday at City Hall on federal drug charges.

Denning, 41, of Delmont is accused of acting as a go-between for interstate drug deals that were part of a sting operation carried out by the Drug Enforcement Administration.

He is free on $250,000 unsecured bond and waived a preliminary hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Pupo Lenihan that had been scheduled for Monday, according to online court documents. He was ordered to have a mental health examination and, as a condition of his bond, must surrender his passport and is not allowed to have weapons at his home.

Bell said the city will have no further comment about Denning's departure from the Greensburg force "until a thorough review and investigation is completed in the police department."

City officials have indicated inquiries about the department must be in the form of a Right-to-Know request.

Denning is charged with two counts of aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine and three counts of aiding and abetting the distribution of methamphetamine, according to a complaint filed by the DEA in federal court in Pittsburgh.

He also is charged with conspiring to distribute controlled drugs from about June 2021 through last October.

Messages left for Denning have not been returned. No one answered the door at his home Wednesday or Thursday.

His Pittsburgh attorney, Steven Townsend, has said the charges aren't "reflective of Mr. Denning's character or his history as a law enforcement officer. We'll be prepared to vigorously defend them."

It's unusual that federal authorities would make an arrest by filing a criminal complaint, as they did in Denning's case, according to Bruce Antkowiak, a former federal prosecutor and law professor at Saint Vincent College in Unity. But it is an option if federal authorities feel they need to move quickly, he said.

The next step would be to bring the case before a federal grand jury. If they indict Denning, he will face another formal arraignment that will kick off pretrial matters, Antkowiak said.

"The indictment is the next step," he said.

As for scrutinizing any cases where Denning was involved in an arrest, the Westmoreland County District Attorney's Office said Thursday it intends to "review any case that's necessary."

The DEA obtained messages between a cooperating confidential source and Denning in which Denning is accused of connecting the source with out-of-state drug suppliers, according to the federal complaint.

In connection with those messages, and with money provided by the DEA, the confidential source bought about 35 grams of cocaine for $1,650 and 325 tablets containing methamphetamine for $2,500. The drugs came via four shipments mailed from California between November 2021 and last May, according to the complaint.

The DEA said that, last April, it also traced two payments of $110 each to one of the suppliers from a CashApp account associated with Denning.

The complaint cites a recorded conversation between the source and Denning at an Oct. 8 cornhole tournament in Ellwood City.

At the event, the complaint indicates, Denning gave a set of cornhole bags to the source to make up for the source losing money. The source had tried to buy $500 worth of drugs that weren't delivered by an additional out-of-state supplier for whom Denning had vouched, the complaint says.

Capt. Donald Sarsfield has assumed the role of acting chief of the Greensburg Police Department but will have to be retroactively approved as such at city council's February meeting.

Sarsfield earns more than $126,000 annually as a police captain; he will not receive any additional compensation as acting chief.

Denning was earning $120,000 as chief. Those figures each include longevity pay.

Denning joined the Greensburg police force in 2008 after serving with the New York City Police Department, from January 2005 to July 2006, and a department in Manor Borough, from August 2006 to May 2008.

Quickly rising through the ranks in Greensburg, he was promoted to chief last March following the retirement of his predecessor, Robert Stafford. The DEA probe was underway at that time.

According to a recent resume he submitted to the city, in November 2017 he completed a Top Gun narcotics investigation course. He indicated the weeklong course was an in-depth, hands-on "schooling in all aspects of narcotics raids and investigations."

Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .