Gang member to get 75 years in prison for Mayfield drive-by shooting death

A former Vice Lord gang member will be sentenced to 75 years in prison for a drive-by shooting that killed a 23-year-old Mayfield woman in 2019.

According to the Graves County Commonwealth Attorney's Office, Stanford Shelton entered a guilty plea to multiple felony charges on Wednesday as the two-and-a-half day jury trial was nearing its end.

In the summer of 2019, Shelton, with help from co-defendant and fellow gang member Dimetri Ross, made at least three attempts to kill a higher-ranking Vice Lord. 

The final drive-by occurred on June 18 when Shelton fired multiple shots from a 9 mm handgun at the home of their target, but one of the bullets fired by Shelton entered the neighboring home of Savannah Hancock. Hancock was sitting in her living room braiding the hair of her 9-year-old stepdaughter when the bullet went through the front door and struck her in the neck.

Hancock died a few days later.

During their investigation authorities talked to Vice Lord gang members and their female associates. They learned the hierarchy of the gang and the underlying disputes that led Shelton and Ross to try and kill a fellow gang member. 

Authorities said the only two people in the vehicle for all three drive-bys were Shelton and Ross.

Ross previously received a 35-year sentence for his role in the case. 

Shelton will be formally sentenced on March 3. He has been charged with manslaughter, complicity to attempted murder, being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, tampering with a witness and being a persistent felony offender.

The Graves County Commonwealth Attorney's Office said Hancock's stepdaughter, who is now 13, "honored Savannah during this jury trial by bravely taking the stand and describing the tragic details of June 18, 2019, when she was only 9 years old and Savannah was murdered in her presence."