Federal Inmate Sentenced To 15 Additional Years In Prison For Attack On Correctional Officers

Ocala, Florida – Senior U.S. District Judge Wm. Terrell Hodges today sentenced Todd Shepard (49, Missouri) to 15 years in federal prison for the forcible assault of a federal officer, inflicting bodily injury, and using a deadly weapon. This new penalty term must be served in addition to his other currently active sentences. Shepard pleaded guilty on January 27, 2017.

According to the facts presented at sentencing, Shepard is imprisoned at FCC-Coleman until 2029 on a federal drug distribution conviction. He also has a separate state sentence of life imprisonment for the 2008 murder of a Missouri law enforcement officer. On the evening of September 18, 2015, Shepard ambushed and stabbed two federal correctional officers with a sharpened piece of metal. Before being subdued, Shepard repeatedly shouted threats to kill the officers. During a subsequent interview with federal agents, Shepard admitted that he had attacked the officers in an attempt to draw attention to a recent loss of prisoner recreation time.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Prisons. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Robert E. Bodnar, Jr.