Local inmate faces 30 years for witness tampering in federal case

Officials at the SW Virginia Regional Jail had to break-up an assault in November.

Federal prosecutors said the attack was a form of witness tampering, meant to keep the inmate from testifying about an Abingdon shooting that happened eight months earlier.

McKinley Lee Shaffer, 32, was caught on video recordings stating his so-called gang affiliation and the robbery of an Ayran Princess as some of the other reasons for the assault. He faces up to 30 years in prison for his attempt at silencing a federal witness.

(IMAGE: US District Court, Abingdon / Google Maps)