Fentanyl 'Kingpin' Receives Harsh Sentence for Role in Drug Trade

Austin Paul ShinPhoto byLoudon County Adult Detention Center

LOUDON COUNTY, Va. – A man on probation who was later caught with drugs, guns and money learned a hard lesson from a Circuit Court Judge on Thursday. 

According to a media release from the Commonwealth’s Attorney,, Austin Paul Shin appeared before the Loudoun County Circuit Court on September 5, 2024.

He was there to learn his sentence for two counts of Possession of Fentanyl with the Intent to Distribute and one count of Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. 

Shin had also previously been convicted of felony Distribution of Marijuana in 2018 and 2019.

In January of this year, an investigation into fentanyl distribution was conducted by the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office Drug and Gang Unit, and led to the execution of a search warrant on Shin’s residence and vehicle. 

Police recovered approximately 12,600 fentanyl pills, a firearm, and $6,327.00. 

In the media release, the Commonwealth’s Attorney Bob Anderson made the following statement:

“I would like to thank the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office and members of the Drug and Gang Unit for dismantling this high-level drug dealer and his network. 

“This individual was a conduit for addiction, misery, and death here in Loudoun. He was a supplier of suppliers. 

“It is unfathomable the amount of destruction this individual dealt for his own monetary gain at the expense of humanity. 

“We all know that one pill can kill, and the fact that this individual was caught with over 12,000 pills is an affront to societal norms.

“I want to be clear—I intend to use the full weight of this office and its prosecutorial power to deter drug dealers from pushing fentanyl and other deadly drugs onto our streets by seeking punishments that match the level of harm to the community and allocating all the necessary resources to ensure the successful prosecution of these purveyors of death.”

During the sentencing, Deputy Commonwealth Attorney Matthew Lowery stated:

"Shin is a “recidivist, escalating, armed dealer of death … peddling poison to people on a commercial scale … if we consider the amount of drugs from Shin being 1,000 pills to 12 drug dealers, broken down by 200 pills and down to 5 pills, we’re talking about thousands and thousands of illegal transactions,” and that, “he knows these drugs are deadly. That’s why he carried protective gloves with him in his car when he was dealing”

Lowery requested that the Court create an “establishment of deterrence.

"The scale of this crime transcends Mr. Shin’s case. This is a societal level problem, deserving a societal level punishment.”

Before he considered all matters and announced the sentence in Loudon County General District Court, The Honorable Judge P. Fisher spoke directly to Shin. 

“Your case is truly shocking. There are maximum sentences for maximum offenders. You are the kingpins’ right hand, and the deadliness is measured.

We can see the amount of death and overdoses every day. Before handing down this sentence, I must weigh the grief of your family against the grief of the families of overdoses and death because of these drugs ... and they outweigh yours” 

Judge Fisher sentenced Shin to serve forty-five years in prison – with no time suspended.