OAKLAND — A Contra Costa man has been charged in federal court with possessing guns that were found in a Richmond hotel room, where he was arrested after an hourlong standoff with police, court records show.
Daniel Barnett, 34, faces up to 10 years in federal prison if convicted of the gun possession charge. The charges stem from his arrest July 13, when police drafted a warrant accusing Barnett of violating the terms of his supervised release for a 2012 methamphetamine trafficking conviction. The supervised release violation was for allegedly using drugs and “trying to bypass” a drug test, court records show.
Barnett refused to exit his room at the Economy Inn in Richmond and didn’t surrender for a full hour, according to the criminal complaint. Inside the room, authorities found three pistols and a rifle, multiple extended magazines, and an accessory that allowed one of the pistols to fire fully automatic, prosecutors allege.
In 2012, Barnett was sentenced to 87 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to meth trafficking. In that case, prosecutors alleged he was a member of a Richmond gang based in the Easter Hill Village area. His attorney wrote in court papers that Barnett suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome as a teen after his 2-year-old brother was struck and killed by a car, that he spent his youth being “bounced between relatives’ houses and group homes until he started living on the streets at the age of 14 years old,” and that he would benefit more from rehabilitation programs than prison.
Barnett has been in Santa Rita Jail in Dublin since his July arrest and remains on a no-bail hold, court records show. His next court date has been set for Jan. 7.
Source: www.mercurynews.com