SACRAMENTO According to U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert, Californian Jamar Deontae Barnes, 42, of Stockton, confessed on Tuesday to his involvement in a plot to produce and sell fake medications that included methamphetamine, fentanyl, and other substances. Barnes also entered a guilty plea to possession with intent to distribute tablets laced with methamphetamine.
According to court records, Barnes worked with his twin brother, Jamaine Dontae Barnes, and other individuals to manufacture thousands of fake pills that were meant to look like real prescription drugs between September 2015 and May 2019. The organization produced methamphetamine pills disguised as Ecstasy and pills laced with heroin, fentanyl, furanyl fentanyl, and other synthetic opioids using pill press machines. Law authorities found a pill press machine, powders, and pills containing methamphetamine and furanyl fentanyl during a search of Barnes Stockton’s home in May 2019.
As part of a comprehensive federal investigation into the drug conspiracy, Barnes entered a guilty plea. In addition, nine other defendants involved in the scheme entered guilty pleas. Barnes will be sentenced before U.S. District Judge Dale A. Drozd on March 3, 2025. He might be sentenced to life in prison, with a required minimum of 15 years.
The U.S. Marshals Service, Homeland Security Investigations, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and local and state law enforcement partners were among the many agencies that participated in the investigation. The Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) program, which focuses on the biggest criminal groups endangering the US, included the case.
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