FORMER LEON COUNTY DEPUTY SHERIFF PLEADS GUILTY TO UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF AN UNREGISTERED MACHINEGUN

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Bill Ed Culpepper, Jr. 56, of Havana, Florida, has pleaded guilty to unlawful possession of an unregistered machinegun. John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida announced the charge.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “When this defendant unlawfully possessed these firearms, he not only violated federal law, but also the public trust placed in him as a sworn law enforcement officer. No one is above the law, and my office will not hesitate to aggressively prosecute every violation of federal law that occurs in the Northern District of Florida.”

During a drug trafficking investigation of the defendant’s son, Garret Culpepper, additional probable cause developed to search the defendant’s residence in Havana, Florida. During the search, law enforcement located multiple unregistered machineguns as well as an unregistered rifle silencer.

Sentencing is scheduled for January 20, 2026, in federal court before Chief United States District Judge Allen C. Winsor in Tallahassee, Florida. Culpepper faces up to ten years’ imprisonment on the charges.

The case was investigated by the Tallahassee Police Department, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Eric K Mountin.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.