St. Albans Men Cobb, Shamblen Get 7 Years for Meth Conspiracy

Two St. Albans men are behind bars after federal prosecutors dismantled a major methamphetamine pipeline stretching from Nevada and California into southern West Virginia. Mark Cobb, 30, and Shayne Shamblen, 47, were each sentenced to seven years in federal prison for their roles in a sprawling drug trafficking conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced today in Charleston.

Cobb and Shamblen admitted to working with Joseph Cooper, a key figure in the operation who was later sentenced to 14 years in prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine. Federal investigators revealed the trio orchestrated the shipment of multiple pounds of high-purity meth through the U.S. mail and via couriers driving cross-country. The scheme flooded the Southern District of West Virginia with crystal meth exceeding 90% purity, fueling addiction and violence in already vulnerable communities.

Postal Inspection Service agents, working alongside the Metropolitan Drug Enforcement Network Team and Homeland Security Investigations, intercepted packages laced with meth and cash proceeds. In April 2015, Shamblen arranged to receive a package from Cooper containing over 100 grams of crystal meth—meth he readily admitted he intended to distribute. Around the same time, Cobb, who had lived with Cooper in Nevada, helped package drugs for shipment. His fingerprint was lifted from a parcel sent to St. Albans containing nearly 3 grams of the same high-grade crystal meth.

The investigation peeled back layers of a sophisticated trafficking ring that exploited the postal system to move drugs under the radar. Authorities say Cooper coordinated supply lines from the West Coast while Cobb and Shamblen managed logistics and local distribution in West Virginia. Benjamin Childers, another operative who transported meth across state lines, was sentenced to 10 years and one month for his role in the conspiracy.

Assistant United States Attorney Haley Bunn prosecuted the cases, emphasizing the federal commitment to dismantling drug networks that prey on rural and suburban areas. U.S. District Judge John T. Copenhaver, Jr. handed down the sentences, underscoring the severity of trafficking operations that turn small towns into battlegrounds for control of the drug trade.

These prosecutions are part of an ongoing initiative by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of West Virginia to target drug trafficking at every level. With federal, state, and local agencies united in the effort, authorities are cracking down on open-air markets, pill mills, and interstate supply chains—one takedown at a time.

RELATED: St. Albans Man Parsons Pleads Guilty to Meth Trafficking

RELATED: Morgan Light, 24, Pleads Guilty in Meth Conspiracy