Kokomo man gets 25 years in federal drug case
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Jun. 21—A Kokomo man who police say sold a confidential informant methamphetamine in 2020 was recently sentenced to 25 years in federal prison.
The sentence against Demario Barker, 33, comes after the defendant pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of distribution of methamphetamine.
Barker's charges stem from an investigation initiated by the Kokomo Police Department in October 2019 into possible drug trafficking activities, according to federal court records.
It was around that time that officials with KPD learned from a confidential source that a "large meth supplier" would meet people at the Marathon gas station on the corner of Boulevard and Dixon streets, per those same court records.
It was later revealed that Barker was the individual involved in those drug transactions.
Federal authorities with the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration eventually became involved in the investigation, and law enforcement began conducting controlled buys with Barker in June 2020, court documents indicated.
On June 9, 2020, one of those buys was reportedly conducted at Barker's residence in the 1000 block of West Havens Street, while police say others were done at Barker's "stash house" in the 1000 block of East Broadway Street, according to court records.
Some of those deals were in excess of 100 grams of methamphetamine, as well as thousands of dollars.
Police also noted in federal court documents that Barker would often be in several different vehicles during the controlled buys, and law enforcement officials believe those vehicles were purchased with drug money.
On Nov. 30, 2020, law enforcement conducted search warrants at Barker's residences on Havens and Broadway streets, and they reportedly ended up seizing several loaded and unloaded firearms, as well as one pound of methamphetamine, court documents indicated.
Barker was out of town during these searches but was later located and arrested without incident in Nevada and subsequently extradited back to Indiana.
Along with Barker's prison sentence, he was also ordered to be supervised for five years after his release.
