SACRAMENTO—John Winton Harris of Sacramento was sentenced Thursday, January 15 to 21 years and 10 months in prison for possessing more than 163 grams of crack cocaine.
Sacramento police officers responded to a domestic violence complaint at an apartment complex in Sacramento on July 16, 2012. When officers entered the apartment, they found Harris, 31, crouched in the kitchen area. When officers found a large amount of cocaine base in the apartment, he attempted to flee.
Harris claimed he did not live in the apartment, but officers found mail addressed to him at that address, as well as other personal items belonging to him in the apartment. Harris’s cellphone revealed photographs of Harris in the same apartment with a large amount of currency only days before, as well as text messages indicating he was involved in the distribution of cocaine base that very week. He was arrested and charged with possession of cocaine base for sale, battery on a spouse or co-habitant, and parole violations.
Records show that while awaiting trial, Harris fled California and was arrested on a warrant by US Marshals in Pahrump, Nevada on November 26, 2013. He was captured along with 31-year-old Adela Guerreo, who was charged with conspiring with Harris.
The sentence imposed on Harris by U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England Jr. was based not just upon the circumstances of his offense, but also his substantial criminal history, which rendered him a career criminal under federal law. Another factor the court considered in imposing sentence was the finding that Harris obstructed justice by falsely testifying at a hearing held during his trial, authorities said.
The case resulted from an investigation by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration and the Sacramento Police Department.
