Department of Justice
For Immediate Release
Cherokee County Resident Pleads Guilty to Federal Firearm Crime
MUSKOGEE, OKLAHOMA – The United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Oklahoma announced that Billy Eugene Shepard, Jr., age 31, of Hulbert, Oklahoma, entered a guilty plea of one count of Felon in Possession of a Firearm, punishable by up to 15 years imprisonment.
The Indictment alleged that on or about July 12, 2023, Shepard knowingly possessed a firearm after having been convicted of a felony, a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year.
The charges arose from an investigation by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
The Honorable Judge D. Edward Snow, U.S. Magistrate Judge in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma, accepted the plea and ordered the completion of a presentence investigation report. Shepard was remanded to the custody of the United States Marshal Service pending a sentencing hearing.
Assistant United States Attorney Ryan Bondura represented the United States.