Tahlequah Resident Sentenced For Federal Firearm Conviction

MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Billy Eugene Shepard, Jr., age 42, of Tahlequah, Oklahoma, was sentenced to 49 months in prison for one count of illegal possession of a firearm and ammunition.

The charges arose from investigations by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

On November 1, 2023, Shepard pleaded guilty to one count of Felon in Possession of Firearm and Ammunition.  As part of the plea, Shepard admitted to knowingly possessing a firearm and ammunition after having been previously convicted a crime punishable by more than one year imprisonment.

The Honorable Ronald A. White, Chief Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, presided over the hearing.  Shepard will remain in custody of the U.S. Marshal pending transportation to a designated United States Bureau of Prisons facility to serve a non-paroleable sentence of incarceration.

Assistant United States Attorney Edith Singer represented the United States.