Rice County Attorney says Career Criminal Will Stay Behind Bars

The Minnesota Court of Appeals today affirmed the conviction and sentence of a 39 year old Chicago, Illinois man in prison for multiple offenses.  Those offenses include Importing Controlled Substances Across State Borders, 1st Degree Controlled Substances and Fleeing Police.  Rice County Attorney John Fossum says, "Demarcus Barker had a 20 year career of violent and drug offenses.  This sentence protects the public from his misconduct."

Barker was sentenced to 316 months in prison November 7, 2017.  According to the County Attorney news release,  Barker had gone to Chicago and returned to Rice County with powder cocaine, crack cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana.  When police attempted to stop him, Barker fled authorities and led them on a chase through and west of Faribault.

Barker crashed the vehicle and was arrested, there was a large amount of marijuana in the car.  The next morning officers found powder, crack cocaine and methamphetamine pills in the ditch along the route Barker drove.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals today affirmed in part, reversed in part and remanded the case.  In the unpublished opinion the conviction and the sentence were affirmed and Fossum says, "Although the court found some technical errors in sentencing, it determined that 316 months or just over 26 years to be an appropriate sentence."

Fossum says the case was investigated by the Cannon River Violent and Drug Offender Task Force, The Faribault Police Department and Rice County Sheriff's Office.

Barker has been previously convicted of several felony assaults, firearms offenses and drug dealing in Minnesota and Illinois.

The convictions date back to 1997 according to the Rice County Attorney's Office.