Anson County Man Is Sentenced To Six And A Half Years On Gun Charge

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Dyral Keith Shankle, 34, of Wadesboro, N.C., was sentenced to 78 months in prison today, followed by two years of supervised release, for a firearms offense, announced William T. Stetzer, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina.

According to information contained in filed court documents and today’s sentencing hearing, on January 22, 2020, at approximately 11:00 p.m., Shankle drove his vehicle to a Wadesboro hospital emergency room. When Shankle arrived at the hospital, he got out of his vehicle and ran into the hospital holding a gun in his hand. Court records show that when the hospital security officer asked Shankle to hand over his gun, Shankle refused and claimed that “people were coming after him.” The security officer was eventually able to take the firearm, which was loaded with a high capacity magazine, after Shankle moved his finger off the trigger. Shankle was subsequently treated by hospital staff for a gunshot wound. Over the course of the investigation, law enforcement recovered two additional firearms that belonged to Shankle, ecstasy pills, marijuana and more than $10,000 in cash.  

In October 2020, Shankle pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm by a felon. He is currently in federal custody. Upon designation of a federal facility, he will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons.  

In making today’s announcement, Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Wadesboro Police Department, and the Monroe Police Department for their investigation of the case. Acting U.S. Attorney Stetzer also thanked Anson County District Attorney Reece Saunders for his office’s coordination and assistance throughout the case.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephanie Spaugh, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.