US: Former airport baggage handler gets prison for gun smuggling

A former baggage handler at Atlanta's airport who helped smuggle guns onto passenger planes bound for New York City was sentenced Thursday to 2 ½ years in prison. Eugene Harvey, 34, had pleaded guilty in December to conspiring to carry a weapon on an aircraft after reaching a plea agreement with prosecutors. Harvey worked as a baggage handler and ramp agent for Delta at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and was fired in December 2014 as a result of the investigation. Prosecutors said he abused his position with the airline to get 135 guns into the airport and then passed them off to be taken to New York to be sold on the black market. "I made some bad decisions, but I've had the time to reflect on that and I am truly sorry," Harvey told the judge before he was sentenced, adding that he's learned his lesson and won't end up back in court. The charge he pleaded guilty to carries a penalty of up to 20 years in prison, but prosecutors asked the judge to impose a 2 ½-year sentence. They cited his cooperation with state prosecutors in New York, which helped convict his co-defendants, among other factors.<br/>