Ivory Brandon Harris (born 1985), known as B-Stupid, is an American gangster from New Orleans, Louisiana, who gained notoriety when police accused him of committing murders in Houston and New Orleans. Following a 2006 arrest and 2007 plea deal, he is incarcerated in the federal prison system as of 2024. Police said that Harris was associated with the "Dooney Boys," a group formed in the Magnolia Projects (C.J. Peete Projects) public housing community.Crowe, Robert.
Target of manhunt here wanted in New Orleans
" '' Houston Chronicle''. March 10, 2006. Retrieved on January 7, 2009. Prior to

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

, Harris had been arrested at least eight times in the 2000s and charged with murder twice; police could not get anyone to testify against him, so he could not be convicted of any serious crimes.Cobb, Kim.
New Orleans failures led crime here
" '' Houston Chronicle''. February 4, 2006. Retrieved on January 7, 2009.

Before Hurricane Katrina

Harris was arrested more than a dozen times as a juvenile. When Harris was 16, prosecutors charged him with killing 24-year-old Alphonse McGheeFilosa, Gwen. "Top criminal suspect agrees to a plea deal." '' The Times-Picayune''. Saturday June 23, 2007. Retrieved on January 7, 2009
1
in the courtyard of the Magnolia Projects. A grand jury indicted Harris as an adult and charged him with first-degree murder. Two years elapsed as the district attorney considered Harris's mental competency. When a key witness's testimony was ruled inadmissible, the district attorney's office dropped the charges against Harris. Less than one month later, Harris was arrested for a weapons charge. Police arrested Harris on June 19, 2005; Harris faced charges for shooting 30-year-old thrift store owner Yoshio Watson to death at a birthday party of a child at the 2600 block of Philip Street in

Central City In urban planning, a core city, principal city metropolitan core, or central city, is the largest or most important city or cities of a metropolitan area. A core city is surrounded by smaller satellite cities, towns, and suburbs. A central city i ...

on May 12, 2005. On August 22, 2005, one week before Hurricane Katrina struck, the district attorney dropped the charges after a witness refused to cooperate. Harris remained in prison due to an aggravated

battery Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

case. After Katrina struck, Harris was placed in a prison in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. Two weeks before

hit New Orleans, Jim Bernazzani, the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...

agent in charge of the New Orleans field office, and the New Orleans police composed a list of 112 people who had proportionally committed the most crime in New Orleans; the police and FBI planned to build cases against them so they would be put in prison. Harris was one of the people on the list. When Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans, Bernazzani retrieved a disc from the remains of the FBI building before being rescued; using the disc, Bernazzani sent the list to the FBI headquarters in Washington, D.C.Hylton, Hillary. "The Gangs of New Orleans." '' TIME''. Sunday May 14, 2006. Retrieved on September 16, 2009
3

After Hurricane Katrina

On November 3, 2005, Harris was released from the Shreveport prison. At 4:20 a.m. on December 17, 2005, a man was shot to death at a Houston freeway intersection after he was involved in a fight in a nearby pool hall. Houston authorities wanted to question Harris about the murder. Sergeant Brian Harris (no relation), a

Houston Police Department The Houston Police Department (HPD) is the primary law enforcement agency serving the City of Houston, Texas, United States and some surrounding areas. With approximately 5,300 officers and 1,200 civilian support personnel it is the fifth-largest ...

homicide investigator, described Harris as "the axle at the center of our wheel. He kept coming up." On December 28, a man named Steven Kennedy was killed; police said that the murder was likely a revenge killing in response to the 2003 murder of a New Orleans rapper named James "Soulja Slim" Tapp; police charged Harris and Jerome Hampton for that crime. In January 2006, Houston courts charged Harris, then 20 years old, for aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping charges. Harold Hurtt, chief of the

, said that Harris was "an extremely dangerous individual and we believe responsible for several murders." Hurtt believed that Harris traveled between Houston and New Orleans. Police arrested Harris on January 4, 2006, on a criminal trespassing charge in New Orleans and released him with a $2,500 bail. At the time, Harris was a suspect in three murders in Houston. Houston police launched a manhunt on February 16. At around 1:30 a.m. on February 28, 2006, a man named Jermaine "Manny" Wise died of gunshot wounds inside a vehicle during

Fat Tuesday Mardi Gras (, ) refers to events of the Carnival celebration, beginning on or after the Christian feasts of the Epiphany (Three Kings Day) and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday, which is known as Shrove Tuesday. is French for "Fat ...

, February 28, 2006, at the 5300 block of Constance Street in New Orleans.Finch, Susan.
"B-Stupid" facing 25 years in plea deal
." '' The Times-Picayune''. June 22, 2007. Retrieved on January 7, 2009. Wise's death was the sole recorded homicide in New Orleans on that day. On March 19, 2006, members of the New Orleans Police Department and the Kenner Police Department arrested Harris at a Kenner apartment complex using a warrant for Wise's murder.Ivory "B-Stupid" Harris Pleads Guilty in Federal Court
" '' United States Attorney's Office Eastern District of Louisiana''. June 21, 2007. Retrieved on January 7, 2009. According to the police, Harris had three and one-half ounces of

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

, three and one-half ounces of

crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be smoked. Crack offers a short, intense high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Substance Abuse Treatment'' calls ...

, a .45-cal. semiautomatic

handgun A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...

, two loaded assault rifles, and $5,800. The U.S. attorney's office said that Harris boasted about being a drug dealer on his '' MySpace'' page. A man named Calvert "Soulja" Magee, with Harris, was also arrested. By March 27, a news article stated that Houston police suspected him of being a "common denominator in a wave of bloodshed" that involved eleven murder suspects who are evacuees. Police also discovered that Harris had traveled between Houston and New Orleans between his release from the Shreveport jail and his arrest in the apartment; he used it as a base for dealing

narcotics The term narcotic (, from ancient Greek ναρκῶ ''narkō'', "to make numb") originally referred medically to any psychoactive compound with numbing or paralyzing properties. In the United States, it has since become associated with opiates ...

and keeping weapons.

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (BATFE), commonly referred to as the ATF, is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice. Its responsibilities include the investigation and preven ...

special agents discovered during a follow-up investigation that Magee convinced a woman to rent the apartment in her name so that Harris's and Magee's names did not appear on the lease. While in prison for these charges, Harris smuggled a mobile phone into his cell so he could communicate with Magee. He placed telephone calls asking for his associates to find the witness that saw him kill Wise; the associates did not find her, and law enforcement authorities relocated her after discovering the calls.

Plea deal and sentencing

In 2007, Harris pleaded guilty to drug-trafficking and gun crimes, receiving a 25-year sentence in a federal court. As part of the plea deal, he also pleaded guilty in state court to killing Wise.'B-Stupid' Pleads Guilty In Federal Court
" '' WDSU''. June 22, 2007. Retrieved on January 12, 2010. Prosecutors from Louisiana allowed Harris to plead guilty to manslaughter for the death of Wise. By doing so, Harris avoided a murder trial for Wise's murder; Gwen Filosa of '' The Times-Picayune'' stated that if Harris had been tried for killing Wise, the trial would likely have led to a life sentence. Harris, Federal Bureau of Prisons #30089-034, is in the United States Penitentiary, Lee. He is scheduled to be released on January 7, 2029.

References

External links

5 Katrina evacuees target of manhunt
* Ripley, Amanda.

" '' TIME''. Tuesday March 21, 2006.
Anna Nicole Smith Dead; Murder City USA: 24 Hours in New Orleans

{{DEFAULTSORT:Harris, Ivory American drug traffickers History of New Orleans Living people Prisoners and detainees of Louisiana Prisoners and detainees of the United States federal government Year of birth missing (living people)