BATON ROUGE, LA - Acting United States Attorney Corey R. Amundson announced today that Chief United States District Court Judge Brian A. Jackson has sentenced Ashford Harris, 33, formerly of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to serve over 14 years in prison following his convictions for federal drug and firearm charges. HARRIS was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release following imprisonment, to forfeit all property involved in his crimes, and to pay a $300 special assessment.
On Nov. 2, 2016, Harris was indicted by a federal grand jury and charged with one count of possession with the intent to distribute cocaine, diazepam, and marijuana, one count of possession of firearms by a convicted felon, and one count of possession of firearms in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
On May 2, 2017, the defendant pled guilty as charged to all three counts. During his guilty plea hearing, Harris, a convicted felon, admitted to possessing with the intent to distribute cocaine, cocaine base, marijuana, synthetic marijuana and diazepam. He further admitted to possessing two semi-automatic rifles, two handguns, and over 200 rounds of ammunition. HARRIS admitted that he possessed these firearms in furtherance of his drug trafficking crime.
Acting U.S. Attorney Amundson stated, “This successful prosecution and the defendant’s lengthy sentence should send a strong message about our commitment to working with our law enforcement partners to get armed drug traffickers off of our streets. Through this prosecution, we were able to get semi-automatic rifles and guns out of HARRIS’s hands and stop him from victimizing our community with his drugs. I sincerely appreciate the hard work by the ATF and the East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office in bringing HARRIS to justice."
This matter was handled by the United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Louisiana, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the East Baton Rouge Parish Sheriff’s Office. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Elizabeth White.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
