Michael Shepard, Alcoholics Anonymous host, allegedly sold drugs at meetings

(CBS/AP) SEATTLE - Michael Martin Shepard, the owner of a South Seattle nonprofit club that regularly hosted Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, was arrested Monday for allegedly selling oxycodone before and after meetings, CBS affiliate KIMA reports.

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office, the Seattle Police Department was alerted in November that Shepard, the owner of Nomadian Community Resource Center, was dealing illegal drugs.

"We took a closer look and realized what we had here was a pretty significant drug operation," Sgt. Sean Whitcomb, of the Seattle Police Department, said.

Shepard, 64, allegedly turned the club into a hub for prescription drug dealing. He allegedly only sold to people who became members of the club in order to avoid law-enforcement detection, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Shepard reportedly sold prescription pills to a police informant five times in January and February. Some of those sales were observed by undercover officers and federal agents.

Court documents say Shepard sold the pills in between meetings.

"It's like, 'Show-up early, stay late and get your drugs, and in-between if you want to learn a little more about AA, we can talk about that too,'" Whitcomb said.

When Shepard was arrested Monday, officers found prescription narcotics and two guns inside the Nomadian Community Resource Center, the U.S. Attorney's Office says, according to KIMA.

Shepard could face up to 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine if found guilty of selling oxycodone.