On January 4, 2023, Drew D. Shepherd, 33, of Lebanon was sentenced to 22 years at the Indiana Department of Corrections on two counts of Dealing Methamphetamine as a level 3 felony by the Honorable John G Baker. After a two day trial on October 6, 2022, a Boone County jury found Shepherd guilty to all of the presented charges – 2 counts of Dealing in Methamphetamine as a level 3. The trial proceeded without the Defendant present as he failed to appear for the jury trial as instructed by the Court. The Defendant was notified in person at a previous hearing of the jury trial date. A jury trial without the defendant present is known as a “trial in absentia.” While uncommon, a trial in absentia has all the procedural safeguards of a “regular” trial where the defendant is present – including a defense attorney who is able to present a case on behalf of the defendant. This is the second time in as many years that the Boone County Prosecutor’s Office has had to try a jury trial in absentia. The charges stem from acts committed by Shepherd on or about October 8 and 22, 2018. Through an investigation conducted by the Hamilton/Boone County Drug Task Force in October of 2018, Shepherd delivered methamphetamine to a confidential informant on two separate occasions. Drew Shepherd was previously convicted on October 19, 2010 for Conspiracy to Commit Dealing in a Schedule 1 Controlled Substance as a B felony. Additionally, Shepherd has a pending Level 2 felony Dealing in Methamphetamine case in Newton County filed in September of 2022 The prosecution team was led by Narcotics Prosecutor Conrad Schrock, co-counsel Major Felony Prosecutor Brent Wilson and Lebanon Police Detective Eric Adams assigned to the Hamilton/Boone County Drug Task Force.
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