William J. Edwards, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, announced that the final 2 defendants were sentenced by Judge David D. Dowd, Jr., on July 29 and 30 for their roles in drug trafficking and money laundering offenses.

Arkeefe Sherrills, 41, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Shaneka Pittman, 31, was sentenced to 240 months in prison. The defendants had been found guilty at trial in January, 2008, of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than five kilograms of cocaine, 1 kilogram of phencyclidine (PCP), and marijuana. Each was also convicted of using the telephone in furtherance of drug trafficking activities. Sherrills was also convicted of a money laundering conspiracy.

Sherrills and Pittman, a husband and wife from Palmdale, California, recruited a group of couriers to travel to Cleveland and other cities carrying narcotics. With the assistance of Southwest Airlines, law enforcement agents identified this group of couriers, who made over 500 trips between 2004 and 2007. Couriers would typically hide kilograms of cocaine between their legs in girdles while traveling by airplane from California. Approximately 15 kilograms of cocaine, and smaller quantities of PCP were intercepted by agents, who conducted 60 days of wiretaps as part of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF) Operation "Frequent Flier."

Twenty-three other co-defendants pled guilty in this case, and received sentences ranging from 14 months to 140 months for their roles in the conspiracy. In addition to their prison sentences, Sherrills and Pittman were also ordered to forfeit approximately $253,000 in seized cash and several automobiles.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Roger S. Bamberger and Matthew B. Kall following investigation by the Ohio HIDTA, Money Laundering Initiative Task Force.