On December 19, 2025, the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office took a report of a stolen vehicle from a residence on Red Pond Road in Sweetwater. Monroe County Sheriff’s Office detectives entered the vehicle as stolen into the National Criminal Information Center (NCIC) database, which allows all law enforcement agencies access to information nationwide.

On January 5, 2026, at approximately 2:45 p.m., a Monroe County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched to call the residents on Red Pond Road in reference to the stolen vehicle. A female resident advised that a male identified as Kenny Shepherd had been working on their farm and was asked to take trash to the dump using their 2006 green Ford F-150 truck on December 19, 2025. When Mr. Shepherd failed to return with the vehicle, the residents contacted him and requested that he bring it back.

According to the residents, Mr. Shepherd stated they owed him money and that he was not returning the vehicle. After waiting several days, the residents again contacted Mr. Shepherd, at which time he allegedly began making threats of harm if law enforcement was contacted. Mr. Shepherd later told the resident that the vehicle had been crushed at a junkyard.

However, on the evening of January 6, 2026, the Tennessee Highway Patrol conducted a traffic stop on the 2006 green Ford F-150 in Loudon County and ran the vehicle through the NCIS database, which alerted the officer that the vehicle had been stolen.

The driver, Kenneth George Sheperd a 35 year old white male, was arrested and charged with the following:

Mr. Shepherd was taken into custody without incident and booked into the Loudon County Jail. The stolen vehicle has since been recovered and is in the process of being returned to its rightful owner.

The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office would like to thank the Tennessee Highway Patrol for their assistance in this case.