Former Greensburg police chief pleads guilty to evidence tampering charges

Former Greensburg police chief Shawn Denning pleaded guilty Monday in Westmoreland County court to three misdemeanor counts of tampering with evidence.

Denning, 44, of Delmont was sentenced to serve three concurrent one-year probation terms, which will run alongside the 15-month federal prison sentence he is serving after pleading guilty this year to drug trafficking.

Appearing noticeably thinner than during his days as chief of police, Denning entered the courtroom in a blue prison jumpsuit, shackled and handcuffed, escorted by sheriff’s deputies.

Monday originally had been scheduled as the start of his trial, stemming from allegations that he stole a backpack containing suspected steroids and psilocybin mushrooms from the police department’s evidence room.

An audit conducted in 2023 following Denning’s arrest on federal drug charges discovered the evidence went missing from the Greensburg police station sometime between May 3, 2022, and Feb. 16, 2023, according to court records. The backpack was never recovered. Prosecutors contend Denning falsified records to cover up his removing it from the police evidence room.

Denning declined to make a statement during Monday’s court hearing, only saying he agreed to plead guilty because it was in his best interest. He briefly told the judge he has a history of mental illness related to post-traumatic stress disorder stemming from his prior service in the U.S. Marine Corps.

“He is accepting responsibility and is trying to move on and rebuild his life,” defense attorney Brian Aston said.

As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dismissed one theft count — the most serious charge Denning faced — and a fourth charge of tampering with evidence.

The probation term imposed by Westmoreland County Common Pleas Judge Michael Stewart II was within standard state sentencing guidelines, according to Assistant District Attorney Adam Barr.

District Attorney Nicole Ziccarelli said in a statement Denning’s plea “ensures accountability while he remains incarcerated and continues to serve his federal sentence.”

Denning had been in Westmoreland County Prison since July 31, having been transferred last week from a federal penitentiary in Schuylkill County after he pleaded guilty in April 2024 to drug trafficking offenses.

The judge ordered that Denning not be returned to the county jail and be immediately taken back to federal prison.

Aston suggested Denning could be released from federal custody as early as January.

Federal investigators said Denning communicated with a government informant starting in July 2021 and, over the next 15 months, conducted conversations on smartphone apps where he provided contact information for out-of-state drug suppliers and a “menu” of the drugs they had available for sale, as well as instructions on how to transmit money to them electronically.

Denning vouched for the suppliers, and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency provided the informant with money to place orders, according to the court records. The mailed packages that were confiscated contained drugs, authorities said.

Investigators claimed Denning assisted now former Greensburg police officer Regina McAtee in getting methamphetamine pills online and then bought some from her once the order arrived.

McAtee, 52, of New Kensington was suspended in 2022 and retired the following year. She pleaded guilty in federal court in May 2024 to conspiracy to distribute and possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was sentenced to serve 36 months on probation.