Red” and Gardner Charged with Murder in Connection to Louisiana Staged Accident Scheme

According to the recent indictment by a federal grand jury, Ryan Harris, also known as “Red,” and Jovanna Gardner have been accused of murdering Cornelius Garrison, a participant in the Louisiana staged accident scheme called “Operation Sideswipe.” Garrison had been indicted for his involvement in the scam just four days prior to his death on September 22, 2020. Both Harris and Gardner have been charged with five federal offenses, which include conspiracy to commit witness tampering through murder, witness tampering through murder, conspiracy to retaliate against a witness through murder, retaliation against a witness through murder, and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Previous indictments related to this scheme have led to 48 guilty pleas, but none of those cases have yet gone to trial. The indictment does not provide much detail about Garrison’s murder, only stating that it was part of a plan to stop Garrison from collaborating with federal authorities and disclosing the fraudulent collision scheme. During a hearing held on Monday, both Harris and Gardner were remanded into the custody of the U.S. Marshal’s Office. The trial for Harris and Gardner is scheduled to take place on July 15. Multiple attorneys have been implicated in the scheme, but so far, only Danny Keating has been charged. Keating entered a guilty plea nearly four years ago, and his sentencing has repeatedly been postponed. His sentencing date has now been set for July 18. This article originally appeared on FreightWaves.