Editorial: Denning's plea acknowledges responsibility for Pennsylvania crimes

On Monday, a man in a dark blue prison jumpsuit stepped out of a Westmoreland County Sheriff’s van at the courthouse. His wrists were circled in handcuffs and bound to a chain around his waist. His ankles were similarly shackled.

He looked like what he is: a criminal. He looked nothing like what he was before: the Greensburg chief of police.

Shawn Denning, 44, of Delmont has been in federal prison since June 10. He pleaded guilty in April 2024 to conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine. Those charges stemmed from connecting a government informant with dealers in California over a period of 15 months.

So why was Denning back in Greensburg this week?

Because our court system is not one system. It is an intersecting series of equally important jurisdictions.

Denning has answered for his federal crimes. They were federal not only because they specifically broke federal laws, but also because they crossed federal boundaries. By taking his crimes across state lines, Denning was answerable to the federal government.

That means the drug crimes were not something that could be prosecuted by a Pennsylvania court.

But that doesn’t negate other crimes. In this new appearance, Denning pleaded guilty to three counts of tampering with evidence, connected to a backpack containing suspected steroids and psilocybin mushrooms that disappeared from the Greensburg police station evidence room.

These are misdemeanors. He received only three concurrent one-year probation sentences that will be served while he is doing 15 months in federal prison. So do they really matter? Was it important to bring Denning back from the federal facility in Schuylkill County to go through a process that ultimately won’t add time to his penalties?

Yes.

Denning’s federal crimes are not all-encompassing. They do not include the wrongs he has done in other places or to other people.

We have separate jurisdictions for a reason. If, for some reason, he was released from federal custody early, that does not mean his obligation and responsibility to the people of Pennsylvania or specifically the people of Westmoreland County have been satisfied. Although it might not encumber his life more than the bars in prison, it is still a weight and a history that must be carried.

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

Good. He should do that. And part of that is acknowledging, publicly and officially, the damage he did in this jurisdiction.