RALEIGH – Robert J. Higdon, Jr., the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina, announces today that United States District Judge James C. Dever, III, sentenced JERRY LATWAN HARRIS, JR., 26, of Raleigh, North Carolina, to 48 months’ imprisonment, followed by 3 years of supervised released.

On November 7, 2018, HARRIS was named in a one-count Indictment charging him with Possession of a Firearm and Ammunition by a Convicted Felon.  On April 8, 2019, HARRIS pled guilty to the charge. 

On July 4, 2018, an officer of the Raleigh Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a truck driven by HARRIS.  The officer suspected HARRIS was intoxicated, and he was detained.  The officer located two bottles of liquor on the passenger-side floorboard, one of which was partially consumed. Inside the center console, the officer located a .40 caliber handgun, loaded with 14 rounds of ammunition, which was reported stolen from Cary, North Carolina.

During an unprotected statement to officers, HARRIS advised he consumed two or three beers earlier in the day. Preliminary breathalyzer examinations indicated HARRIS had a .13 blood alcohol concentration on two separate occasions. HARRIS was arrested without incident. Further investigation revealed HARRIS was on post-release supervision for several felony convictions, including two counts of Robbery with a Dangerous Weapon.

This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), a program bringing together all levels of law enforcement and the communities they serve to reduce violent crime and make our neighborhoods safer for everyone.  Since 2017 the United States Department of Justice has reinvigorated the PSN program and has targeted violent criminals, directing all U.S. Attorney’s Offices to work in partnership with federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement and the local community to develop effective, locally-based strategies to reduce violent crime. 

This case is also part of the Take Back North Carolina Initiative of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of North Carolina.  This initiative emphasizes the regional assignment of federal prosecutors to work with law enforcement and District Attorney’s Offices on a sustained basis in those communities to reduce the violence crime rate, drug trafficking, and crimes against law enforcement.  For more information about this initiative please click here:  https://www.justice.gov/usao-ednc/tbnc.

The investigation of this case was conducted by the Raleigh Police Department and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.  

Assistant United States Attorney Daniel W. Smith prosecuted the case for the government.