Lengthy Prison Sentence For Rochester Drug Dealer
Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - A man described by Rochester police as a "significant narcotics dealer" will be over 70 years old when he is released from federal prison.
The US Attorney for Minnesota issued a statement this afternoon indicating 50-year-old Dwight Barnes of Rochester has been sentenced to just under 22 years in federal prison for a drug trafficking conviction. He was found guilty of a charge of conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine in February. During his trial, the jury heard evidence that Barnes received at least four packages from the west coast containing methamphetamine between early May and late October in 2017.
That’s when Barnes was arrested after a citizen called Rochester police to report a suspicious package. The man told investigators it was delivered to his residence but was addressed to a deceased person. He also indicated he was approached by two men who asked for the package shortly after it was delivered.
The package contained two pounds of methamphetamine. Barnes was later arrested at his workplace in Stewartville after a witness identified him as one of the men who had gone to the home asking for the package. At the time, Barnes had been the target of an investigation by the local Criminal Interdiction Unit for several months.
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