Two Men Sentenced to Prison for Federal Gun Crimes

CHARLESTON, W.Va. –  Two men were sentenced to prison for federal gun crimes, announced United States Attorney Mike Stuart.

Djuan Terrell Harris, 32, of Detroit, was sentenced to 41 months in prison.  Harris was previously convicted of being a felon in possession of a firearm by a federal jury after a trial before United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers.  On May 31, 2019, an officer with the Huntington Police Department located Harris walking towards his vehicle near the 1500 block of Madison Ave in Huntington.  Upon investigation, the officer determined that Harris was carrying on his person a loaded Sig Sauer P229 .40 caliber handgun.  Harris had been previously convicted of a felony drug offense out of Wayne County, Michigan.    The Huntington Police Department, the Violent Crime and Drug Task Force West, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) conducted the investigation.  United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.  Assistant United States Attorneys Ryan A. Keefe and Joseph F. Adams handled the prosecution.

Brandon Carter, 34, of Charleston, was sentenced to 30 months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm.  Carter previously admitted that on January 12, 2019, at approximately 3:38 a.m., an officer with the Charleston Police Department initiated a traffic stop on a scooter operated by Brandon Carter because it was being operated on the sidewalk at Patrick Street near Fourth Avenue.  The officer recognized Carter from a shooting incident that occurred on October 7, 2018, near Delaware Avenue. The officer knew that Carter is a prohibited person and Carter admitted to having three prior felonies that prohibit him from possessing firearms. Carter told the officer that he was currently out on bond relative to the incident from October 2018. Carter told the officer, prior to a pat-down, that he was in possession of a Kel-Tec .380  firearm.  The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Charleston Police Department conducted the investigation.   United States District Judge Joseph R. Goodwin imposed the sentence.  Assistant United States Attorney Ryan A. Saunders handled the prosecution.

These cases are being prosecuted as part of the Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) program, the centerpiece of the Department of Justice’s violent crime reduction efforts.  PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, a broad spectrum of stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.

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