RICHMOND, Va. – Cory D. Harris, 27, of Petersburg, Va., was sentenced today by a federal judge on gun and drug charges.  United States District Judge Henry E. Hudson sentenced Harris to twenty years’ imprisonment for conspiracy to distribute “crack” cocaine and possession with the intent to distribute “crack” cocaine, those sentences to run concurrent to each other.  In addition, the Court sentenced Harris to five years’ imprisonment for one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking and twenty-five years for a second such count.  Those sentences were ordered to run consecutive to all other sentences.  Finally, the Court sentenced Harris to ten years’ imprisonment on two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon, those sentences to run concurrent to all other sentences.  The total sentence for Harris was fifty years’ imprisonment.     

            Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; William Hoover, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) Washington Field Division; John Dixon, Chief of the Petersburg Police Department; and Edward Frankenstein, Chief of the Prince George County Police Department, made the announcement after the sentence was imposed by

            According to court records and evidence at trial, Harris’ residence in Petersburg was searched on January 29, 2010, and over 100 grams of “crack” cocaine was recovered in a dresser drawer in his bedroom.  Four firearms were also recovered, as well as numerous items of drug paraphernalia.  Approximately one year later, on January 24, 2011, another of Harris’ residences was searched and law enforcement recovered more drug paraphernalia and two AK-47 assault rifles, one loaded with a 75-round magazine.  Several cooperating witnesses corroborated the evidence recovered at the various houses and confirmed that Harris was a “crack” cocaine dealer responsible for distributing significant amounts of “crack” cocaine in the Petersburg area over several years.         

            This case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Petersburg Police Department; the Prince George County Police Department; and the Central Virginia Narcotics Task Force.  Assistant United States Attorneys Peter S. Duffey and Jamie L. Mickelson prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.justice.gov/usao/vae.  Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.

 

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