Duo found guilty of heroin conspiracy after four-day trial
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Jerry Harris, 38, of South Bend, Ind., and David Gibson, age 47, of Chicago, Ill., were found guilty on September 19 after a four-day jury trial before U.S. District Court Judge Jon DeGuilio, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.
In March of 2018, Harris and Gibson were indicted for conspiracy to distribute heroin. The jury deliberated about three hours and found them both guilty of conspiring to distribute over a kilogram of heroin in the South Bend area. In an earlier case (United States v. Corey Harris, et al.), several individuals who sold heroin for Harris and Gibson pled guilty; some have been sentenced and others are awaiting sentencing.
“I have directed my office to focus on individuals who distribute heroin and other dangerous opiate narcotics, especially in light of the opioid crisis that exists across the United States,” said U.S. Attorney Kirsch. “This successful prosecution was the result of cooperative efforts throughout local, state and federal law enforcement agencies. We will aggressively investigate, prosecute and hold accountable those who flood our streets with these drugs to make our communities safer.”
According to evidence presented at trial, Harris and Gibson conspired with at least six other persons from the earlier case to sell heroin in and around the Miami Hills area of South Bend. The conspirators shared a cellphone that customers called to arrange purchases of heroin. The evidence showed that undercover law enforcement officers purchased heroin from members of the conspiracy on 28 separate occasions between March and October of 2017. Phone records show that the shared cellphones had over 80,000 contacts during the time of the conspiracy. The investigation included search warrants on five houses and cars. Harris and Gibson directed the sales conducted by those who sold heroin to the undercover officers.
Mr. Harris and Mr. Gibson are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 30, 2020. Both face a minimum of 10 years to life incarceration. Gibson was recently convicted of carrying a firearm during a drug trafficking crime in Wyoming and is currently serving a 12-year sentence.
The case was investigated by the DEA and ATF with assistance from several local police agencies including the St. Joseph County Drug Investigation Unit, Indiana State Police, South Bend Police Department, Mishawaka Police Department, the Elkhart Police and ICE unit, the St. Joseph County Police Department and the St. Joseph County Prosecutor’s Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joel Gabrielse and Molly Donnelly.
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