Floyd County Man Sentenced To 320 Months For Conspiracy To Distribute Heroin,Cocaine And Prescription Drugs

PIKEVILLE, KY - Kerry B. Harvey, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky; Joseph P. Reagan, Special Agent in Charge, Drug Enforcement Administration; Jack Conway, Attorney General of Kentucky; Rodney Brewer, Kentucky State Police Commissioner; and Phillip Reed, Pikeville Police Chief, jointly announced today that a Floyd County man has been sentenced to 320 months in prison, for his role in a drug conspiracy involving heroin, prescription drugs, and cocaine.

Billy Shepherd, 41, was sentenced, on January 8th, following convictions for conspiracy to distribute and possession of heroin. U.S. District Judge Danny C. Reeves enhanced Shepherd’s sentence because Shepherd qualified as a career offender, based upon his significant criminal history. Shepherd has previously been convicted of first degree fleeing and evading police and first degree wanton endangerment. Under federal law, Shepherd will have to serve at least 85 percent of his prison sentence.

A jury convicted Shepherd in September 2014. According to evidence presented at trial, in 2013, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant on a vehicle in which Shepherd was a passenger. They found 21 grams of heroin, along with Oxycodone pills and cocaine, that belonged to Shepherd.

The evidence also established that Shepherd conspired, with five others, to distribute heroin in Floyd County. According to testimony, the conspirators made trips to Columbus, Ohio to buy ounce quantities of heroin for distribution.

All of Shepherd’s co-defendants have pleaded guilty and have been sentenced for their roles in the conspiracy.

The investigation was conducted by the DEA, London Field Division; the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office; Kentucky State Police; and the Pikeville Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd Bradbury prosecuted this case on behalf of the federal government.