Man Ordered to Serve 30 Years in Prison for Second Degree Murder After Killing a Woman Found Near a Bus Stop

TULSA, Okla. - A Sand Springs man was sentenced today for Second Degree Murder in Indian Country, announced U.S. Attorney Clint Johnson.

U.S. District Judge John D. Russell sentenced Anthony Clay Russell, 32, of Sand Springs, to 360 months imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release.

According to court documents, on October 22, 2024, first responders were dispatched in response to a call about a woman lying on a sidewalk with blood coming from her head. Medical personnel told responding officers that the woman, later identified as Tasha Shepard, was deceased from a gunshot wound to the back of the head.

Surveillance footage from the area showed a BMW pulling into a nearby parking lot. The surveillance showed Tasha getting out of the passenger side of the BMW and walking away from the car. The BMW is seen following Tasha as she walked out of the parking lot and then sped away from the area where first responders found Tasha's body.

Detectives discovered a cellphone on Tasha and retrieved text messages with Anthony Russell from the evening of the shooting. Russell texted Tasha about paying for sex and coordinating where he could pick her up.

When detectives interviewed Russell, he initially lied about being with Tasha. When confronted with evidence, Russell eventually admitted that he picked up Tasha to have sex for money. Russell admitted he did not have money to pay Tasha, so she got out of the BMW and walked away. Eventually, Russell admitted to shooting at Tasha, claiming he was only trying to scare her.

The investigation further revealed additional surveillance footage of Russell and Tasha together in the BMW several minutes before Tasha was killed. During a search of Russell's home, detectives found the BMW and the firearm used to shoot Tasha.

Russell is a citizen of the Osage Nation, and he will remain in custody pending transfer to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons.

The Tulsa Police Department and the FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Adam D. McConney and John Brasher prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and gun violence, and to make our neighborhoods safer for everyone. On May 26, 2021, the Department launched a violent crime reduction strategy strengthening PSN based on these core principles: fostering trust and legitimacy in our communities, supporting community-based organizations that help prevent violence from occurring in the first place, setting focused and strategic enforcement priorities, and measuring the results. For more information about Project Safe Neighborhoods, please visit Justice.gov/PSN.