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BEAUMONT, TX – A deadly drug deal unraveled in the Sabine County woods led to a guilty plea today for Shane Dwayne Hadnot, 28, of Jasper, Texas. Hadnot admitted to federal drug violations in connection with the death of Alfred Wright, a Jasper man whose disappearance and subsequent discovery sparked a grim investigation.
According to court documents, Wright, reported missing on November 7, 2013, after his truck broke down, was found deceased on November 25th. Clothing belonging to Wright was discovered near the breakdown site, and the search eventually led investigators to his body in a brushy area. The investigation quickly focused on Hadnot, revealing a pattern of drug sales to the victim. Phone records and evidence seized from Hadnot’s vehicle linked the two men through a series of transactions.
The damning details revealed a frantic exchange of text messages. Just hours before Wright vanished, at 12:36 pm on November 7th, Wright texted Hadnot requesting cocaine and other narcotics. Five hours later, he was gone. A subsequent autopsy painted a harrowing picture: Wright’s blood contained a lethal cocktail of cocaine, methamphetamine, and Xanax. Pathologists, toxicologists, and anthropologists jointly concluded Wright’s death was an accidental overdose—a direct result of the drugs he’d obtained.
U.S. Attorney John M. Bales minced no words following Hadnot’s guilty plea. “Today’s guilty plea signals that this investigation has reached a significant point of closure,” Bales stated. “Shane Hadnot is being held accountable for his criminality and the associated factual context for Hadnot’s plea provides the truth for why Alfred Wright lost his life in the Sabine County woods.” Bales acknowledged the pain for Wright’s family, calling the distribution of illegal narcotics “a cancer in American society.”
Hadnot was indicted by a federal grand jury on August 6, 2014, and charged with drug trafficking violations. He now faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing, a date that remains to be set. The investigation was a joint effort by the Texas Rangers, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brit Featherston and John B. Ross are prosecuting the case. While justice may be served in the courtroom, the family of Alfred Wright is left to grapple with the tragic consequences of a fatal drug deal gone wrong – a stark reminder of the deadly cost of the narcotics trade in East Texas.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Drug Trafficking
- Source: Official Source ↗
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