FROM: Jody Pickens, District Attorney General, 26th Judicial District
On June 9, 2023, the Jackson Police Department received a Crime Stoppers tip that Frank Wilbourn, now age sixty (60), was selling various drugs out of his house located at 218 First Street and that he was in possession of a firearm. Sgt. Jerod Cobb and members of the Jackson Police Department conducted an investigation that resulted in officers executing a search warrant at that address on June 22, 2023. During the search, officers made contact with Frank Wilbourn on the front porch.
They observed 1.49 grams of cocaine in a tray on the front porch and removed a 32-caliber revolver from Mr. Wilbourn’s rear left pocket. Officers arrested Mr. Wilbourn for Possession of a Schedule II (cocaine) Controlled Substance, and, due to his multiple prior felony convictions, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. His criminal record included: Assault with Intent to Commit Murder in the First Degree with a Firearm Causing Bodily Injury; Sale of Cocaine; Theft of Property over $10,000; Aggravated Assault; and Manufacturing Marijuana. Following his arrest, Mr. Wilbourn was released on bond.
On October 16, 2023, the Jackson Police Department received another Crime Stoppers tip that while Mr. Wilbourn was released on bond, he was again selling cocaine out of his house at 218 First Street and was again in possession of a firearm. Sgt. Cobb and members of the Jackson Police Department conducted an investigation and executed another search warrant at that address on October 27, 2023. The officers located 7.29 grams of cocaine, a digital scale, and a 38-caliber revolver.
On February 12, 2025, the State, represented by Assistant District Attorney General Matthew Floyd, tried Mr. Wilbourn on the June 22, 2023 incident. The jury returned a verdict of guilty of Possession of Cocaine and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. On April 10, 2025, Madison County Circuit Judge Don Allen sentenced Wilbourn to an effective sentence of twenty (20) years to serve. He will be eligible for parole after serving eighty-five percent (85%) of the sentence.
On September 17, 2025, Mr. Wilbourn went to trial on the October 27, 2023 incident. The jury again convicted him of Possession of Cocaine, Possession of Drug Paraphernalia, and Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon. The court will hold a sentencing hearing on November 10, 2025. Mr. Wilbourn faces an additional sentence of twelve (12) to twenty (20) years. By operation of law, this sentence must be served consecutively to the twenty (20) years he is already serving because he was out on bond when he committed this offense.
Wilbourn faces a total effective sentence of approximately thirty-two (32) to forty (40) years in the Tennessee Department of Correction when he is sentenced in November by Judge Don Allen. Because the weapons offenses carry a release eligibility date of eighty-five (85%) he will have to serve approximately twenty-seven (27) to thirty-four (34) years before being eligible for parole.
“In his life, Frank Wilbourn accumulated several felony convictions yet still had an opportunity to live in society for the remainder of his life. As the release indicates, on multiple occasions he rejected that opportunity and made the decision to return, yet again, to a life of drugs and carrying guns,” said District Attorney General Jody Pickens. “The streets of Jackson are safer with Wilbourn being incarcerated for the next several decades.
“I am thankful for the hard work Assistant District Attorney General Matt Floyd and the Jackson Police Department put into this case. I am equally thankful for the good citizens who called Crime Stoppers and alerted law enforcement to the Defendant’s criminal activity. This case stands as an example of what is possible when the community and law enforcement work together. It is my hope that others will see this outcome and turn away from a life of crime. There is no future in it.”
