PALM COAST, Fla. – A 52-year-old Palm Coast man who was caught driving without a valid license while heading to a court-ordered drug treatment class, with a device designed to cheat a urine test concealed in his pants, has been sentenced to eight years in state prison.
James Shepard appeared in court Monday, Oct. 5, and admitted to violating the terms of his community control stemming from a series of appliance thefts at construction sites in Flagler and St. Johns counties.
A judge revoked Shepard’s community control after finding he had violated its conditions by driving without a valid license. He was sentenced to eight years in the Florida Department of Corrections, with credit for 114 days already served in county jail.
The sentence comes less than a year after Shepard avoided prison through a plea agreement in his original burglary and grand theft cases.
Construction Site Thefts Led to Original Charges
Shepard’s legal troubles began with a 2025 joint investigation by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office and St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office into appliances stolen from newly constructed homes.
During the investigation, detectives searched a Palm Coast storage unit rented by Shepard and recovered 22 stolen appliances, including refrigerators, ovens, dishwashers, a washing machine and a dryer.
On Jan. 6, 2026, Shepard pleaded no contest to two counts of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling and two counts of grand theft. He was adjudicated guilty.
His sentencing scoresheet called for a minimum prison term exceeding four years, and each burglary charge carried a potential sentence of up to 15 years.
Instead, prosecutors agreed to a sentence of two years of community control followed by three years of drug offender probation.
Community control is a form of intensive supervision that allows an offender to remain outside prison under strict restrictions.
Deputies Discover Fake Urine Device During July Arrest
On July 14, Flagler County deputies observed Shepard leaving a scheduled appointment at the felony probation office and driving away, despite not having a valid driver’s license.
A deputy followed Shepard and stopped him as he entered the parking lot of his court-ordered drug treatment class, where he was expected to provide a urine sample.
Shepard was arrested for driving without a valid license and felony violation of probation because his supervision conditions prohibited him from breaking the law.
While Shepard was seated in the back of a patrol car outside the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility, a deputy discovered a bag containing yellow liquid, tubing, a heating pad and a prosthetic male genitalia device on the floorboard.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, patrol car video showed Shepard removing the items from his groin area and throwing them across the back seat.
When confronted, Shepard denied that the items belonged to him.
The State Attorney’s Office later dropped a charge of attempting to defraud a urine drug test and declined to file a tampering-with-evidence charge.
Sheriff Says Shepard Wasted Second Chance
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly criticized Shepard for violating his supervision conditions after receiving an opportunity to avoid prison.
“Shepard’s own scoresheet called for prison, and he was given a gift of community control instead. That was the break of a lifetime, and he flushed it down the drain,” Staly said.
“Barely six months later he was driving without a license to his drug class with a fake urine contraption stuffed down his pants. I thank the judge for holding him accountable. Now he can think it over for the next eight years in state prison.”
Shepard also faces pending violation of probation proceedings in St. Johns County.
He remains at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility awaiting transfer to the Florida Department of Corrections.