A 40-year-old Salisbury woman was convicted of possession of a large amount of heroin and related charges on Oct. 5, by a Wicomico County jury, according to the Wicomico County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Jacqueline N. Sheppard was also convicted of importing heroin into Maryland, two counts of possession with intent to distribute heroin, two counts of possession of heroin, drug trafficking, wearing or carrying a firearm during the commission of a drug trafficking crime, wearing or carrying and transporting a handgun in a vehicle, illegal possession of a regulated firearm, possession of a rifle by a disqualified person and three counts of possession of paraphernalia, according to State’s Attorney Matthew Maciarello.

Charges against Sheppard stemmed from a traffic stop on June 9 by the Wicomico County Narcotics Task Force and several law enforcement agencies, the state’s attorney said.

Law enforcement officers followed a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta occupied by two people as it traveled from Delaware into Maryland. Once the car was in Wicomico County, officers stopped it and identified Sheppard as the driver, he said.

Based on statements made at the traffic stop and a positive K-9 alert on the vehicle, a search was conducted and resulted in the recovery of 201 grams of heroin and a semi-automatic handgun with a magazine containing two live rounds of live ammunition, Maciarello said.

Police found the heroin in a shoe box on the front passenger floor board.  The handgun was  in the center console, Maciarello said.

A subsequent search and seizure warrant was executed on Sheppard's home at 223 New York Avenue, Salisbury.

Upon execution of the warrant, the task force found a kilogram press with trace amounts of heroin, digital scale with trace amounts of heroin, paraphernalia and the rife and ammunition, according to the state’s attorney.

Sheppard has prior convictions, which prohibited her from possessing a handgun or rifle, Maciarello said.

Facts stated at the trial revealed she and another person traveled to New Jersey to buy the heroin.

The jury was able to conclude that, based on the quantity and packaging of the heroin, when combined with the handgun, scale, kilogram press and paraphernalia, Sheppard possessed the heroin for distribution, the state’s attorney said.

She awaits sentencing as a subsequent offender because she was convicted in 2001 in two separate charges of possession of a narcotic.