BENTON – Two people were lodged in the Franklin County Jail on multiple charges following a traffic stop Monday in rural Franklin County.
According to Sheriff Kyle Bacon, the driver, 66-year-old Charles E. Shepherd Jr. of Thompsonville, is charged with Unlawful Possession of Drug Paraphernalia and Speeding. He is also being held on a Williamson County arrest warrant. His passenger, 26-year-old Judah Herring of Bradley, IL is charged with Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine, Unlawful Possession of a Weapon by Felon, Aggravated Unlawful Use of Weapon, and Armed Offender.
During the traffic stop, it was determined that Shepherd was wanted in Williamson County for failure to appear on a traffic offense. It was also discovered that Herring was on parole/mandatory supervised release from the Illinois Department of Corrections.
Shepherd was soon placed under arrest and both he and the vehicle were searched incident to arrest. That search produced a substance within the vehicle that tested positive for the presence of methamphetamine. At that time, Herring was also placed under arrest and searched. During the search, the deputy recovered a loaded handgun Herring was concealing on himself.
