Shakopee Man Among 8 Charged with Trying to Distribute 1,000 kg of Pot

Life in prison is the maximum sentence a Shakopee man could face if federal prosecutors succeed in convicting him on charges of conspiring to distribute 1,000 or more kilograms of marijuana in Minnesota.

That's according to an announcement from the U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, which said Shawn Andrew Withrow, 38, of Shakopee is one of eight men named in a federal indictment that was unsealed on March 8, 2013.

One of the men is from California. The others, like Withrow, are from Minnesota. Each faces a single count of conspiracy to distrubute marijuana.

Prosecutors allege that the defendants conspired from January 2009 through December 20, 2012.

Among the items authorities seized in the course of the investigation are pickup trucks and other vehicles, jet skis, trailers, motorcycles and more than $200,000 in cash.

Agencies involved in the investigation include the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, the West Metro Drug Task Force, the West Hennepin Public Safety Department, the Medina Police Department, the Orono Police Department, the Mound Police Department, the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Southwest Hennepin Drug Task Force.