2011 Arrests at Springdale Village
Kedrick Jamel Harris and Bredgette Shaw
In 2011, Bristol, Virginia, police responded to a fight call involving guns and knives at Springdale Village Apartments, a public housing complex with a history of violence—earlier that year, it was the site of an elderly woman’s murder during a robbery. Officers observed Kedrick Jamel Harris, 24, of Bristol, Tennessee, drop a stolen 9mm handgun in plain sight as they approached. Harris fled but was quickly apprehended. A search of the vehicle he shared with Bredgette Dewan Shaw, 22, of Bristol, Virginia, revealed marijuana, a large amount of cash, digital scales, and Schedule II narcotics.
Harris, a convicted felon, faced charges of Possession of Marijuana with Intent to Distribute, Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon, Possession of a Stolen Firearm, Possession of Schedule II Narcotics, and Possession of Schedule II Narcotics with a Firearm. Shaw was released on bail, while Harris was held without bond. Federal sentencing later followed: Harris received 10 years for Conspiracy to Distribute 280+ grams of Cocaine Base, and Shaw got 3.5 years for the same charge, per a guilty plea (see Eleven Defendants Sentenced).
Source: Johnson City Press, 2011 (link).
2009 Marijuana-by-Mail Scheme
On March 12, 2009, Bristol, Virginia, police arrested Kedrick Jamel Harris, then 21, of Kingsport, and Keitha Anne Gilmore, 25, of Bristol, Virginia, after intercepting a $31,000 marijuana shipment. The U.S. Postal Inspector tipped off the DEA about a 26-pound package addressed to 213 Gate City Highway. Police arranged a controlled delivery, observing Gilmore load it into her vehicle. A search of the residence uncovered an ounce of marijuana and a handgun. Harris arrived during the search, carrying $3,860, and admitted the drugs were his. Both were charged with Intent to Distribute Over Five Pounds of Marijuana; Gilmore was held without bond, Harris on $5,000.
Source: Wes Bunch, Johnson City Press, March 12, 2009.
Repeat Offenders and Regional Challenges
Harris’s arc—2009 marijuana trafficking to 2011 gun-drug charges, culminating in a 10-year federal sentence—exemplifies how repeat offenders in East Tennessee rack up felonies despite earlier brushes with the law. His 2009 arrest with Gilmore didn’t deter the 2011 escalation with Shaw at Springdale Village, a hotspot—drugs and guns entwining violence in public housing. Residents’ complaints about such complexes highlight a cycle where prison fails to break recidivism, fueled by a region with few jobs (6.2% unemployment, BLS 2022) and scant treatment (1.5 beds/1,000, SAMHSA).
