What happens when you’re dealing meth at a Fresno apartment complex, try to flee police on a bicycle, ditch the bike and pull out a gun?
If you are 38-year-old Bert Harris, you are shot in the hip by a police officer and, nearly two years later, get 10 years, three months in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd sentenced Harris on Monday for carrying a firearm while drug trafficking, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of methamphetamine with intent to distribute, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott said.
The Drug Deal and Chase
According to court documents, on Dec. 6, 2017, law enforcement officers saw Harris conducting what appeared to be hand-to-hand drug deals outside an apartment complex in Fresno. When the officers tried to arrest Harris, he fled on a bicycle. Eventually, Harris turned into a parking lot outside an apartment complex and jumped off his bike. While Harris was running, he reached in his pocket and pulled out a gun. The officer shot Harris though his hip and Harris fell to the ground.
Officers searched Harris and found methamphetamine in his pocket and marijuana in the backpack he was carrying. Harris admitted that he had been selling the methamphetamine and that he had the gun for protection. Harris was taken to the hospital for his wounds.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, and the Multi-Agency Gang Enforcement Consortium investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ross Pearson and Melanie Alsworth prosecuted Harris.
