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Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Ja’sha Tanae Sheppheard, 22, of Gainesville, and Deaundre Bernard Walker, 24, of Palatka, were arrested yesterday morning after a stolen pistol was reportedly found in Sheppheard’s bag.
At about 7:20 a.m. Sunday morning, a car driven by Walker was pulled over by an Alachua County Sheriff’s Deputy for failing to come to a complete stop at the intersection of SE 9th Place and SE 43rd Street. The deputy reportedly found window tint violations on four windows and issued a warning for the stop sign violation and four citations for the window tint violations.
While waiting for Walker to produce the car’s registration, the deputy reportedly noticed the smell of burnt marijuana coming from the car, which led to a probable-cause search of the car. The search reportedly produced a Glock handgun that was inside a backpack between Sheppheard’s legs. The gun had been stolen from a law enforcement vehicle in Columbia County and was loaded with hollow-point bullets.
The search also reportedly produced a bullet in the driver-side door pocket that matched the bullets in the gun. The car is reportedly registered to Walker.
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Post Miranda, Sheppheard reportedly said the backpack belonged to her, but she initially denied knowing anything about the gun. However, she later reportedly said that DNA and fingerprints belonging to her and to Walker would be found on the gun.
Post Miranda, Walker reportedly denied knowing anything about the gun. He also said that he and Sheppheard were the only people who had been in the car that day.
Sheppheard has been charged with grand theft of a firearm because the gun was in her backpack and she said her fingerprints would be found on it. She has no criminal history, and Judge Walter Green set bail at $10,000.
Walker has been charged with grand theft of a firearm and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. He has a juvenile criminal history, five felony convictions including a conviction for possession of a concealed firearm without a valid permit (none violent), and three misdemeanor convictions (none violent). A 2019 charge of grand theft of a firearm was dropped. Judge Green set bail at $300,000.
Articles about arrests are based on reports from law enforcement agencies. The charges listed are taken from the arrest report and/or court records and are only accusations. All suspects are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
