Albany Felon Shawn Faircloth Gets 68 Months for Gun, Heroin Crimes

Shawn Faircloth, 46, of Albany, is headed to federal prison for 68 months after admitting he traded heroin for a loaded revolver and used it to further his drug operation in the city’s downtown core. The sentence, handed down today, follows a guilty plea on federal firearms charges tied directly to narcotics distribution.

Faircloth admitted that in early 2013, he swapped bags of heroin with a drug user in exchange for a loaded Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver. That gun — ready to fire — was later found stashed inside the bathroom of his Albany apartment during a search warrant execution on August 9, 2013. The discovery placed him squarely in the crosshairs of federal gun laws prohibiting felons from possessing firearms.

Inside the same bathroom, authorities recovered a digital scale and a supply of Ziploc bags — tools of the trade Faircloth acknowledged he used to portion out heroin and crack cocaine for street sale. The evidence painted a clear picture: a convicted felon arming himself while actively dealing drugs in one of the Capital Region’s most vulnerable neighborhoods.

U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and Ashan M. Benedict, Special Agent in Charge of the ATF’s New York Field Office, announced the sentencing results. They emphasized that arming oneself during drug trafficking isn’t just a state offense — it triggers severe federal penalties. “Guns and drugs create explosive danger,” Jaquith said. “We’re taking that threat off the street, one conviction at a time.”

Sentencing was presided over by Senior U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Scullin Jr., who imposed the 68-month prison term and added a mandatory 3 years of supervised release upon Faircloth’s eventual return to society. The judge noted the seriousness of a felon not only possessing a weapon, but acquiring it through active drug trade.

The investigation was conducted jointly by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives (ATF) and the Albany Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph A. Giovannetti and Wayne A. Myers handled prosecution, ensuring the case moved from street-level arrest to federal conviction. Faircloth now begins a prison term that reflects the gravity of merging firearms with the city’s drug trade.