One man has pleaded guilty and another plans to change his plea to federal charges of possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine in the Mahoning Valley.

The plea deal Friday for Jason Hollister, 40, of 1501 Meadowbrook Drive, Boardman, headed off a trial that was supposed to start 9 a.m. Nov. 20 at the Carl B. Stokes Federal Courthouse in downtown Cleveland.

Federal court records show that Hollister on Friday pleaded guilty to the charge in the same drug case. Another court record shows Hollister’s co-defendant — Samuel Shipton, 36, of 2664 Volney Road, Youngstown — intends to plead guilty to the charge.

Hollister will undergo a presentence background report before being sentenced 9 a.m. March 3, 2021, by federal Judge Pamela A. Barker.

According to a posting on Nov. 9, however, Shipton will change his plea and be sentenced via video upon completion of his presentence investigation.

Hollister remains in custody, while Shipton was free after posting a $20,000 bond, records show.

ATTEMPT TO SMUGGLE

The two were indicted after federal agents used a GPS tracker, hidden camera, an informant and a drug-sniffing dog to thwart the attempt to smuggle more than a half-pound of meth into the Youngstown area.

According to an affidavit filed with the court by a Homeland Security agent, a Cleveland postal inspector on Aug. 5 noticed a suspicious package addressed to Shipton’s home from a Glendale, Ariz., address. The 3-pound parcel was placed in a lineup before a narcotic detection dog named Ciga with the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Department. The dog detected the odor of an illegal drug emanating from the parcel, the affidavit states.

After gaining a search warrant, the parcel was opened and searched. Inside were nine individual plastic baggies of a white crystalized rock substance that later tested positive for 255 grams of methamphetamine, the document states.

Switching out the original meth with a substitute, postal inspectors added a GPS tracker to the package. They also sprayed the inside of the parcel with clue spray, which illuminates under black light and would transfer to an individual who touches its contents.

On Aug. 6, agents delivered the parcel to Shipton’s front porch on Volney Road. The man picked up the package and immediately left the home. Investigators then stopped the car and detained Shipton and a woman, the document states.

Under questioning, Shipton told authorities he was picking up the package for Hollister, according to the affidavit. Shipton agreed to take the package — with a surveillance device inside — to Hollister’s home in Boardman.

The package was delivered by Shipton, who left. Hollister took the package to a home office and opened it. Authorities arrived within 15 minutes to arrest Hollister, the document states.

During a subsequent search of Hollister’s home, the affidavit states, federal agents found cultivated marijuana in the house and equipment for growing marijuana. Investigators also recovered drug paraphernalia used for consuming drugs, the document states.