Jonathan D. Ross U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas
A federal jury has found Keith Harris, 24, of Sherwood guilty of being a felon in possession of a firearm. The verdict was delivered after a two-day trial and approximately two hours of jury deliberation. Harris will remain in federal custody until his sentencing, which will be set by United States District Court Judge D.P. Marshall, Jr. The offense carries a statutory penalty of up to 15 years in prison.
The case stems from an incident on October 26, 2022, when officers from the Little Rock Police Department stopped a Dodge Challenger for speeding. Harris was identified as a passenger and was found to be on active parole with a search waiver on file. Officers searched both Harris and the area where he had been seated in the vehicle, discovering a Glock model 22 .40 caliber firearm under his seat.
Harris’s criminal history includes a 2019 conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm related to an armed robbery at a North Little Rock gas station that resulted in the death of a U.S. Air Force airman. Initially arrested for capital murder and aggravated robbery at age 18, Harris pleaded guilty to the lesser charge after police determined he was one of four individuals involved. He served five years before being paroled in October 2021. Additionally, Harris has previous adult convictions for two counts of theft of property by threat involving serious physical injury stemming from an incident in 2016.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives led the investigation with support from the Little Rock Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Lauren Eldridge and Amanda Fields prosecuted the case.
"The evidence presented at trial showed that on October 26, 2022, a law enforcement officer with the Little Rock Police Department conducted a traffic stop on a Dodge Challenger for speeding. Law enforcement officers learned that Harris, who was a passenger, was on active parole with a search waiver on file. Harris was asked by law enforcement officers to step out of the vehicle to conduct a search of his person and the area of the car where he was seated. During a search of the vehicle, law enforcement officers located a Glock, model 22, .40 caliber firearm under the seat where Harris had been sitting."
