MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — A Port St. Lucie man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison after authorities say he attempted to traffic thousands of fentanyl pills through the mail while keeping a firearm and large amounts of cash at his home.
Juneem Jermain Barnes, 34, was sentenced to 180 months behind bars on Thursday after pleading guilty to multiple charges, including attempting to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.
According to federal prosecutors, Barnes attempted to receive a package containing at least 15,000 fentanyl pills shipped to his residence. Investigators say the pills were made to look like legitimate prescription oxycodone.
When law enforcement executed a search warrant at Barnes’s home, they say they found additional fentanyl pills, about three pounds of marijuana, more than $35,000 in cash, and a money counting machine. Authorities also recovered a Glock 19X 9mm handgun near the cash and drug distribution materials.
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In total, officials say approximately 2,000 grams of fentanyl were seized in the case.
“Fentanyl is killing Americans every day, and those who distribute it are fueling that crisis for profit,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones in a statement. “That combination of fentanyl and firearms is a direct threat to public safety.”
The case was investigated by the DEA, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FBI, and multiple South Florida law enforcement agencies, including the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
Federal prosecutors say the sentence reflects the seriousness of trafficking fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid linked to thousands of overdose deaths nationwide.
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