United States Drug Enforcement Administration

MIAMI – A Port St. Lucie, Fla., man who attempted to obtain thousands of fentanyl pills through the mail and kept a firearm alongside drug proceeds was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon imposed the sentence on Juneem Jermain Barnes, 34, after he pleaded guilty to attempting to possess with intent to distribute 400 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl, possession with intent to distribute 40 grams or more of a mixture or substance containing fentanyl and possessing a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime.

“Fentanyl is killing Americans every day, and those who distribute it are fueling that crisis for profit,” said U.S. Attorney Jason A. Reding Quiñones for the Southern District of Florida. “This defendant trafficked thousands of counterfeit pills designed to look like legitimate prescription medication and kept a loaded firearm alongside drug proceeds and distribution tools. That combination of fentanyl and firearms is a direct threat to public safety. In South Florida, if you poison our communities for profit, you will be prosecuted and sent to federal prison.”

According to court documents, Barnes attempted to receive a mail parcel containing at least 15,000 fentanyl pills at his residence. The pills were pressed to resemble pharmaceutical oxycodone. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Barnes’s home and discovered an additional parcel containing fentanyl pills disguised as oxycodone, three pounds of marijuana, more than $35,000 in cash, a money counting machine, and other items used to package and distribute narcotics. Law enforcement also located a Glock Model 19X 9mm handgun near the cash and counting machine. In total, law enforcement seized approximately 2,000 grams of fentanyl.  

U.S. Attorney Reding Quiñones, Special Agent in Charge Miles Aley of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Miami Field Division, and Inspector in Charge Bladismir Rojo of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), Miami Division, made the announcement.  

DEA Miami Field Division, West Palm Beach District Office, and USPIS Miami investigated the case with assistance from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, West Palm Beach Resident Agency, St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, Palm Beach Gardens Police Department, and Jupiter Police Department.