LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A couple from Conway will spend a combined 45 years in prison after selling fentanyl to a person who had a overdose due to the drug and later died.
U.S. District Judge James Moody sentenced 39-year-old Terry Franklin and 36-year-old Mary Sheppard to both serve lengthy prison sentences for the crime. Franklin will serve 25 years in prison while Sheppard will serve 20 years. Both will then have three years of supervised release.
“This couple made the decision to sell pills containing a deadly, illegal drug, unfortunately resulting in yet another loss of life from the use of fentanyl,” said Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. “Let this sentence serve as a warning to those who sell fentanyl in any form, that you will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law and the penalty is severe.”
The husband and wife were initially charged in July 2023 for distributing fentanyl that resulted in a death and then pleaded guilty in early 2024. Sheppard pleaded guilty to distribution of fentanyl resulting in death while Franklin pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute fentanyl resulting in death.
The sentencing is connected to the May 2022 overdose of a Greenbrier man, who later die at a Conway hospital. During the investigation, police found pills at the scene and text messages between the victim and Franklin discussing the purchase. Franklin then directed the victim to send a payment to Sheppard's CashApp and get the pills from her.
Surveillance video from the night of the overdose shows Sheppard meeting and exchanging the pills with the victim.
The case was investigated by the DEA with assistance from the Conway Police Department, Greenbrier Police Department, and the Nacogdoches, Texas Police Department.
