Shannon Dale Smith, Extortion and Possessing Firearms in Furtherance of a Crime of Violence, Texas 2015

State: Texas
Category: Violent Crime|Weapons
Source: <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndtx/pr/federal-jury-convicts-crosby-county-man-firearms-offense" style="color:#cc0000;" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener">DOJ Press Release ÃƒÂ¢Ã¢â‚¬Â Ã¢â‚¬â€

A federal jury in Lubbock has convicted Shannon Dale Smith, 46, of Crosbyton, Texas, of possessing firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Smith was convicted of attempting to extort more than $500,000 from a Crosby County man, Nathan Royce Boardman, in October 2015. The extortion attempt was part of a larger scheme in which Smith threatened to kidnap and injure Boardman, his wife, his daughters, and his granddaughters.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Smith left a threatening message on Boardman’s answering machine on October 27, 2015, demanding $525,000 in cash and gold coins in exchange for the safety of Boardman’s family.

Over the next several days, Smith made multiple phone calls to Boardman, including one in which he advised Boardman that he had 14 hours left to get the money or else he would see what Boardman’s granddaughter looked like naked.

On October 29, 2015, law enforcement officers set up a sting operation and Smith was arrested after he arrived at the drop location to collect the money. At the time of his arrest, Smith had a semi-automatic pistol on his person.

Smith faces a minimum mandatory penalty of five years in federal prison and a statutory maximum of life in prison for the firearms charge. He also faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine for the extortion conviction.

The FBI, Texas Rangers, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Crosby County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, which was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

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