An Athens man who a U.S. Justice Department official called a “violent and dangerous man” this week was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for violating federal firearms laws.
Rico Antonio Barnett, 33, was sentenced Tuesday in U.S. District Court in accordance with a plea agreement in which he pleaded guilty to possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The firearm possession charge stemmed from Barnett’s arrest by Athens-Clarke County police for allegedly shooting a man while he was free on bond for the drug trafficking offense.
"Mr. Barnett has proven himself a violent and dangerous man, and the streets of Athens will be a safer place without him," said Acting U.S. Attorney George Peterman. "In just one week last May, he was arrested twice in possession of multiple guns, illegal drugs, and after having allegedly shot a man. His conduct is even more disturbing when one considers that he has more than 45 prior state convictions, including for battery, family violence battery, and being a felon in possession of a firearm."
Barnett was arrested in May 2015 by Athens-Clarke County police who responded to a reported dispute between him and Toni Yolanda Riden, who were in a car at a convenience store. In the car, police said they found marijuana and cocaine, and Barnett had a stolen handgun which he tried to conceal behind the convenience store.
Barnett was subsequently indicted in U.S. District Court for intent to distribute both cocaine and marijuana and also possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense. In an agreement with federal prosecutors, he pleaded guilty to just the firearms charges and the drug offenses were dismissed.
Riden is in federal custody, waiting to be sentenced on a cocaine possession charge.
The case in which Barnett is accused of shooting a man during a drug dispute remains pending in Clarke County Superior Court.
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