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September 24, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Defendant Entered Guilty Plea
to Cocaine Distribution

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA — A 31 year old defendant entered a plea of guilty on September 15, 2010, in United States District Court in Martinsburg before Magistrate Judge David J. Joel.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that JOKARI BARNETT entered a plea of guilty to one count of an Indictment charging him with the distribution of cocaine base on April 16, 2008. BARNETT, who is currently in custody, faces a maximum penalty of 10 years to life imprisonment and a fine of $4,000,000.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Thomas O. Mucklow. The case was investigated by the Eastern Panhandle Drug & Violent Crimes Task Force, consisting of officers from the West Virginia State Police - Bureau of Criminal Investigation, the Martinsburg Police Department, and the Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department.