Brothers Sentenced to Lengthy Prison Terms for Drug and Gun Violations

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – ARTHUR HARRIS, age 21, and his brother ANDRE HARRIS, age 26, both residents of New Orleans, Louisiana, were sentenced today by U. S. District Judge Carl Barbier to lengthy terms in federal prison, announced U. S. Attorney Jim Letten.

ARTHUR HARRIS was sentenced to serve over forty (40) years (481 months) in federal prison. The breakdown of the sentence is as follows: Counts 1 - drug conspiracy, Count 2 - gun conspiracy, and Counts 3 and 5 - possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine – 121 months incarceration. Count 4 - possession of a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities – 60 consecutive months incarceration. Count 6 - possession of a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities, second offense – 300 consecutive months incarceration.

ANDRE HARRIS was sentenced to serve over fifteen (15) years (181 months) in federal prison. The breakdown of the sentence is as follows: Count 1 - drug conspiracy, Count 2 - gun conspiracy, and Count 5 - possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine – 121 months incarceration Count 6 - possession of a firearm in furtherance of his drug trafficking activities – 60 consecutive months incarceration.

In addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Barbier imposed three (3) years of supervisory release on each defendant following the term of imprisonment, during which time each defendant will be under federal supervision and risks an additional term of imprisonment should he violate any terms of his supervised release.

The brothers were convicted in December 2011 after a jury trial in federal court of participating in a conspiracy to distribute cocaine base ("crack"), a conspiracy to use firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking crimes, and several other substantive counts of possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine and the possession of firearms in furtherance of their drug trafficking offenses.

This case was investigated by Special Agents of the ATF, the United States Marshals Service and the New Orleans Police Department. This matter was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sharan Lieberman and Maurice E. Landrieu, Jr .