St. Louis man enters guilty plea for being a felon in possession of a firearm

ST. LOUIS –On February 15, 2022, Horatio Harris pleaded guilty in front of District Court Judge Ronnie L. White to being a felon in possession of a firearm.   

According to the plea agreement, on September 4, 2020, the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) received a call about a crowd gathered outside a boarding house in the City of St. Louis. When officers arrived, they found a group of fifteen to twenty people in the street. A woman from the crowd explained that she had come to confront their stepfather, Horatio Harris, about the suspicious death of her two-year-old nephew.

When Harris saw the group approaching the boarding house, he went to his room upstairs, retrieved a silver revolver, and answered the door with the gun in hand.  Officers determined that Harris was a convicted felon and prohibited from possessing a firearm, specifically in this case, a .38 caliber Colt Army Special revolver that was recovered by police at the scene.  Harris later made admissions knowing he was a convicted felon and that he was prohibited from possessing the firearm.

Harris faces a maximum term of incarceration of not more than 10 years, a fine of not more than $250,000, or both such imprisonment and fine. The Court also may impose a period of supervised release of not more than 3 years. Sentencing is set for May 18, 2022.  

The case was investigated by the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Zachary Bluestone.