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NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – On December 16, 2021, United States District Judge Susie Morgan sentenced ROMALIS HARRIS, to eighty (80) months in the Bureau of Prisons for conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base, and use of a communication facility, a telephone, during the commission of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of the Federal Controlled Substances Act, announced U.S. Attorney Duane A. Evans.

HARRIS was charged on December 19, 2019 and pled guilty on June 14, 2021.  In one count, he pled guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute cocaine base, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Sections 846, 841(a)(1), and 841(b)(1)(B). Judge Morgan sentenced HARRIS to eighty (80) months on that count, to be followed by four (4) years of supervised release.  Additionally, HARRIS was sentenced to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

HARRIS also pled guilty and was sentenced to use of a communication facility, a telephone, during the commission of a drug trafficking crime, in violation of Title 21, United States Code, Section 843(b). Judge Morgan sentenced HARRIS to forty-eight (48) months imprisonment, to be followed by four (4) years of supervised release, to be served concurrently to all other sentences.  HARRIS was also sentenced to pay a $100 mandatory special assessment fee.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN), which is 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.

U. S. Attorney Duane A. Evans praised the work of the Drug Enforcement Administration, the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office, and the Gretna Police Department.  The prosecution was handled by Assistant United States Attorneys Brittany Reed, Andre Jones, and Melissa Bücher.