Ernest Thomas Harris, Firearms Violation, Pennsylvania 2013

PITTSBURGH, Pa. - A Hill District man has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for violating firearms laws.

Ernest Thomas Harris, also known as Pickle, Michael Young, Michael Ford, 42, was sentenced on February 15, 2013, by United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.

Harris was found guilty of violating federal firearm laws after he was caught on video brandishing a loaded 40 S&W caliber semiautomatic Glock pistol at the Aces and Deuces bar located at 1400 Fifth Avenue on June 1, 2011.

According to court records, Harris had been previously convicted in multiple cases in the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County and one case in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania, including charges of assault, stolen property, theft, drug dealing, threats, and firearms.

Federal law prohibits anyone who has been convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year from possessing ammunition or a firearm. Harris's significant criminal record and lack of remorse for his past actions led Judge Fischer to impose the maximum sentence of 10 years federal incarceration.

Assistant United States Attorney Ross E. Lenhardt prosecuted the case on behalf of the government.

As part of the investigation, the gun used in the case was linked to the murder of 19-year-old Stephon Green in the Hill District on April 6, 2011. Harris and several others have been charged in connection with the murder.

Individuals with information on the murder of Stephon Green are asked to call the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police Homicide Detectives at 412-323-7161.

This case is being prosecuted under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative effort by federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, prosecutors, and communities to prevent, deter, and prosecute gun crime.

U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton commended the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Allegheny County Department of Labs, and the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Harris.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/hill-district-man-gets-max-gun-case