UPDATE: Bibb County Jail escapee sentenced to life in prison for armed drug trafficking
Johnifer Barnwell, who broke out of the Bibb County Jail in 2023 as he was awaiting federal sentencing for armed drug trafficking and who was later captured in Augusta, was sentenced to life plus five years in prison on Tuesday.
UPDATE (3/11/25): Johnifer Barnwell, who broke out of the Bibb County Jail in 2023 as he was awaiting federal sentencing for armed drug trafficking and who was later captured in Augusta, was sentenced to life plus five years in prison on Tuesday.
According to a U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia news release, the 38-year-old was found guilty at trial of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine and heroin; possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, meth, heroin, cocaine and cocaine base; and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime on October 2, 2023.
Barnwell was also sentenced to serve the statutory maximum of five years after pleading guilty to one count of escape from custody on July 18, 2024.
“Despite his attempts to escape justice, Johnifer Barnwell has been held accountable for his criminal actions,” Acting U.S. Attorney C. Shanelle Booker said. “Law enforcement officers risked their lives to ensure that a repeat felon was brought to justice and to prevent the distribution of some of the deadliest drugs in our state. I commend them, and our federal prosecution team, for their bravery and the excellent work in this case.”
Bibb County Sheriff David Davis said the sentence “illustrates the penalty that repeat and dangerous felons face when they continue to cause havoc in our community.”
“We can be grateful for the investigative work of the Bibb County investigators and our federal partners in bringing Johnifer Barnwell to justice after his jail escape and his attempt to return to a life of crime,” he added.
ORIGINAL STORY (7/18/24):
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – A Macon man who escaped the Bibb County Jail last year while awaiting federal sentencing for armed drug trafficking pleaded guilty on Thursday to escaping from custody.
38-year-old Johnifer Bernard Barnwell pleaded guilty to one count of escape from custody and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia announced in a news release.
His sentencing date will be determined at a later date.
“Johnifer Barnwell cannot escape justice, no matter how hard he tries or how many people he puts at risk for his own self-interest,” U.S. Attorney Peter D. Leary said. “Our office will continue to support law enforcement by making every federal resource available to them in our collective effort to make our communities safer and hold the most dangerous repeat criminals accountable.”
According to court documents and statements, Barnwell was convicted on October 2, 2023 of armed drug trafficking before being remanded to the custody of the United States Marshals Service to await sentencing. At that time, he was house at the Bibb County Jail.
Two weeks later, he and three others escaped from the jail.
Co-defendant, 31-year-old Janecia Green of Macon, purchased a four-pound mallet and a chisel from Home Depot the day before the escape and gave the items to one of Barnwell’s associates, who arranged to smuggle them inside the jail perimeter. The tools were then used to create an opening in the jail fence, and Barnwell and three others escaped.
Green pleaded guilty to one count of assisting escape of a person committed to custody on May 14 and faces a maximum of five years in prison.
Barnwell was captured in August on November 12, alone in a house and in possession of a weapons and ammunition, as well as suspected narcotics, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“To date, the results show Barnwell was in alleged possession of more than 23,000 grams of methamphetamine and more than 3,200 grams of fentanyl,” the release stated.
