Armed Drug Dealer Sentenced to Federal Prison

Kalamazoo, MI:  On Monday, March 20, 2008, Andrew Damar Morris, a 29 year-old man from Three Rivers, MI, was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for Possessing Cocaine for Purposes of Distribution and Possession of a Firearm in the Furtherance of Drug Trafficking. 

The successful resolution of this case, to include a long prison sentence, was the result of collaboration among several law enforcement entities.  The case was initiated by the Southwest Enforcement Team (SWET) upon search of Mr. Morris’s apartment on September 20, 2006.  During the search SWET along with the assistance of the Kalamazoo Department of Public Safety (KDPS) seized marijuana, powder cocaine, crack cocaine and a .22 caliber revolver. 

Subsequently, the case was adopted for federal prosecution by the United States Attorney’s Office.  The KDPS SWAT team was deployed to arrest Morris.  The case was prosecuted through the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) Task Force Officer who is assigned out of the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team (KVET). 

Chief U.S. District Judge Robert Holmes Bell’s sentencing of Morris to 13 years was based in part on Morris’s lengthy criminal history, including a 2007 child abuse conviction for which he is currently serving four to eight years in state prison.  KDPS Detective Matthew Schultz obtained a confession from Morris for the March 2007 abuse of his infant son who was rushed to the hospital with broken ribs, severe head trauma and bleeding on the brain.

This is another example of a successful prosecution via the federal initiative known as Project Safe Neighborhood, which targets gun violence through adjudication in the federal system where violators receive longer sentences than in the state system and without the possibility of parole. 

Anyone with information regarding illegal drug or firearms activity is urged to contact KVET at 269-337-8880, or report an anonymous tip to Silent Observer at 269-343-2100 or www.kalamazoosilentobserver.com