Armed Tenderloin Drug Trafficker Sentenced To More Than Three Years In Prison

SAN FRANCISCO – Brazil Harris was sentenced today to three years and four months in prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and possessing pills containing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute them, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge John F. Bennett 

Harris pleaded guilty on February 11, 2020, to being a felon in possession of a firearm and to possessing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.  According to the plea agreement, Harris admitted that on October 19, 2019, he was driving his vehicle near the intersection of Golden Gate Avenue and Larkin Street in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco, when San Francisco Police Department Officers stopped him for committing a traffic violation.  At that time, Harris had in the glove compartment of his vehicle a Springfield XDS .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol, which was loaded with three rounds of ammunition.  Harris also possessed in his pants a bottle containing approximately 275 pills, some of which contained methamphetamine.  Harris admitted that he possessed the pills with the intent to distribute them.  Officers also found approximately $260 on Harris.  Harris previously had been convicted of a felony punishable by imprisonment for more than one year and therefore he was prohibited from possessing a firearm.

Harris, 30, of San Francisco, California, was indicted by a federal grand jury on January 23, 2020.  He was charged with being a felon in possession of a firearm and with possessing a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine with the intent to distribute it.  

San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood has been especially severely impacted by illegal drug dealing. “San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood is known to users and dealers throughout the Bay Area as a place to buy illegal drugs,” according to local law enforcement. Indeed, more than half of all the drug sales incidents booked or cited by the San Francisco Police Department took place in the Tenderloin district—specifically, “56 percent … by far the highest of any police district in the City” in fiscal year 2017–2018.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristina Green is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Morgan Byrne.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and the San Francisco Police Department.  This case is part of the Federal Initiative for the Tenderloin, a multi-agency effort spearheaded by the U.S. Attorney’s Office focusing on fighting crime in the Tenderloin neighborhood of San Francisco.  

The sentence was handed down by The Honorable William H. Alsup, U.S. District Court Judge, following a guilty plea on two counts: felon in possession of a firearm, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1); and possession with intent to distribute a mixture and substance containing methamphetamine, in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1).  Judge Alsup also sentenced the defendant to a three-year period of supervised release.  Harris has been in custody since February 3, 2020.

Kristina Green is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the San Francisco Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation.