Written by Jordan Barela, Editor-in-Chief
The decision for bond on appeal for Eric Sheppard has not been announced as of Wednesday.
Sheppard, 21, was transported to the Lowndes County Jail, after being arrested last month. Sheppard was denied bond earlier this month.
Sheppard was arrested on June 4 in Tampa, FL, after hiding from law enforcement. In April, Sheppard was charged with allegedly leaving a firearm in a backpack on campus.
Upon hiding, Sheppard generated more media buzz after he sent a manifesto and video statement to the Valdosta Daily Times. In his manifesto, Sheppard expressed his radical views towards the white race.
Sheppard first garnered media attention when he was seen stomping on an American flag in protest. The protest reached higher levels of media notice when former Air Force veteran Michelle Manhart, stepped in to try and retrieve the flag.
After the initial protest and follow-up protests, Sheppard fled Valdosta after the gun found on campus was linked to him. Upon fleeing, Sheppard’s parents issued a public statement, urging their son to turn himself in. In late April, a group of supporters for Sheppard, created a Facebook group to raise money to aid in Sheppard’s bond, if and when he was arrested. Sheppard had fled Valdosta and was hiding from law enforcement at the time the group was created.
Kelley Maslak, magistrate court clerk, said that Lowndes County Magistrate Judge Jodi Parker is still deliberating Sheppard’s bond appeal and did not say when a decision would be made, as reported in today’s issue of the Valdosta Daily Times.
Sheppard is currently held in the Lowndes County Jail for the charge of the gun found on campus.