Drug trafficker receives 17-year sentence

PITTSBURGH -- Former New Castle resident Leroy Shepherd was sentenced in federal court here to 171/2 years in federal prison on his conviction of violating federal narcotics laws.
Shepherd, 42, who now lives in Eagle, Mich., also was ordered to forfeit $1.28 million to the United States as gross proceeds of his drug trafficking activity. Sentencing took place last week.
According to information presented in court, between 1996 and September 2002, Shepherd conspired to distribute cocaine in the Western District of Pennsylvania and elsewhere.
One Houston witness testified he distributed between 45 and 68 pounds of cocaine to Shepherd, while Shepherd lived in Eagle. Other witnesses testified they took cocaine from the Houston source to Shepherd in Michigan, meeting him in an auto garage.
Several witnesses from New Castle and one from Lansing, Mich., testified Shepherd gave them cocaine in quantities ranging from less than an ounce to 2.2 pounds. One New Castle witness said he received 3.6 to 4.5 pounds of cocaine from Shepherd.
Jurors also viewed a videotape of Shepherd's Michigan home and several classic cars he owned. Witnesses reported that Shepherd was never known to have a legitimate job.