United States of America v. Allan Shaw

Allan Shaw, 36, of Baltimore, Maryland, pled guilty to a federal Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Prohibited Person charge.



Kelly O. Hayes, U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced the guilty plea with Special Agent in Charge Charles Doerrer, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and Commissioner Richard Worley, Baltimore Police Department (BPD).



According to the guilty plea, on December 31, 2024, BPD officers conducted Citi-Watch camera surveillance on the 300 block of Monroe Street in Baltimore. As law enforcement surveilled the block, they saw Shaw offering controlled substances to individuals on the street. Officers also saw Shaw enter his red Dodge Ram truck multiple times, which was parked on the street.



Law enforcement specifically saw Shaw conduct a hand-to-hand drug transaction in which he removed an orange pill bottle from his coat, opened the bottle to retrieve one or more pills, dropped one or more pills in a customer's hand, and then accepted money from the customer. Officers then arrested Shaw. When law enforcement searched Shaw, they found an orange prescription bottle consistent in appearance with the bottle seen on the Citi-Watch surveillance. The bottle contained 18 oxycodone pills.



Additionally, officers searched Shaw's truck, finding cocaine base, a tan-and-black Polymer80 9mm semiautomatic handgun bearing no serial number, and approximately four rounds of 9mm ammunition. Due to a prior felony conviction, Shaw is prohibited from possessing firearms and ammunition.



At the time of his arrest, Shaw was on supervised release in connection with a separate federal conviction for Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Prohibited Person. As part of his plea agreement, Shaw also admitted to violating the terms of his supervised release when he committed another federal crime.



Shaw and the government agreed that if the Court accepts his plea agreement, he will be sentenced to five to eight years in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Adam B. Abelson scheduled sentencing for Monday, January 5, 2026, at 10 a.m.



This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results.



U.S. Attorney Hayes commended the ATF and BPD for their work in the investigation. Ms. Hayes also thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Levin who is prosecuting the federal case.



For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney's Office, its priorities, and resources available to help the community, please visit justice.gov/usao-md and justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.