Convicted Felon Sentenced to 15 Years in Prison on Gun and Drug Charges

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – A federal judge today sentenced a Texas man and convicted felon on gun and drug charges, announced U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives Special Agent in Charge Marcus Watson.

U.S. District Court Judge L. Scott Coogler sentenced Wyndle Dorsie Shepherd, Jr, 31, of Wake Village, Texas, to 180 months in prison.  Shepherd pleaded guilty in November 2023 to possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine, possession of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm in. 

According to the plea agreement, a Demopolis Police Department agent was patrolling I-20/I-59 in Boligee, Alabama, in March 2022 when the agent stopped Shepherd for speeding. Shepherd was traveling alone through Alabama on his way back to Texas in a rental car. The traffic stop ultimately led the agent to search the vehicle. During the search, the agent found a loaded and chambered Taurus 9mm pistol under the driver’s seat, a box of 9mm ammunition, a small bottle containing marijuana, 3 ounces of loose marijuana in a clear plastic bag, and a plastic bag containing drug paraphernalia and methamphetamine.

ATF investigated the case along with the Demopolis Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brittney L. Plyler and Kristy M. Peoples prosecuted the case.