Chicago Man Sentenced To 210 Months in Federal Prison for Gun and Drugs Crimes

CHICAGO, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Andrew L. Traver, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, today announced that Jerome Harris, age 31, of the 4900 block of south Drexel Ave., Chicago, Ill., was sentenced on Dec. 6, 2007 to serve 210 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons by U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve.

On April 2, 2006, Chicago Police Officers responding to a complaint of an individual selling narcotics, and arrested Harris with a quantity of crack cocaine and subsequently seized two semi-automatic handguns from Harris.

Harris was indicted on Nov. 9, 2006 on a two-count indictment for possession of firearms after having been previously convicted of a felony, and possession with intent to distribute narcotics. Harris has been in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service since his arrest.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lisa Noller and Sharon Fairly as a result of a Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) initiative, and the cooperative investigation by ATF and the Chicago Police Department. PSN is an intensive, cooperative effort between local, state and federal law enforcement to attack gun crimes. The cornerstone of the program is that every defendant charged in state court for an offense involving a gun will be reviewed for possible federal prosecution in order to obtain the harshest penalties for the worst offenders.

Additional information about Project Safe Neighborhoods may be found at http://www.psn.gov.

    CONTACT: Tom Ahern, Special Agent
    312-846-7228
    312-735-0675