Tuesday, May 20, 2008
Judge denies bond for man charged with murder
Photos by Jeanna Duerscherl | The Roanoke Times
Brian Sheppard, 38, listens as his lawyer describes his background during his bond hearing.
Joe Sheppard answers questions during the bond hearing about his brother, Brian Sheppard, during the bond hearing. Brian Sheppard has been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of James Fleshman.
Brian Sheppard, 38, is the first person to face a murder charge in Salem in more than a decade. He is accused of shooting James Richard Fleshman Jr. in a grocery store parking lot the afternoon of April 29.
His defense attorney, Greg Phillips, argued that were it not for the "love triangle" involving Fleshman and Sheppard's estranged wife, Sheppard would have no criminal record at all.
Chief Deputy Salem Commonwealth's Attorney Marshall Harrell said Sheppard is a danger to society.
"He drove from out of town here to the city of Salem and killed the man he was ordered to have no contact with," she said.
