November 4, 2011
Gary Davidson
Public Information Officer

DRUG AGENTS NAB NEW SMYRNA MAN WITH 363 GRAMS OF COCAINE

A New Smyrna Beach man wanted for selling cocaine is facing several more drug charges after he was caught Thursday with more cocaine -- a total of 363 grams.

Agents with the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office’s Narcotics Task Force already had 39-year-old James Barnett under investigation for some time. The investigation resulted in an arrest warrant being issued on Oct. 31 charging Barnett with sale of cocaine. The investigation moved to the New Smyrna Beach area after agents received information about where he was living. So they placed him under surveillance and on Thursday afternoon spotted him driving away in his pickup truck. At about 4:50 p.m., a marked Sheriff’s Office patrol unit pulled over Barnett on S.R. A1A near 20^th Avenue.

Barnett had a small amount of cocaine on him. But the big haul was in his truck, where agents found a safe that contained approximately 363 grams of the drug packaged for distribution in 11 separate plastic bags. The cocaine has an approximate street value of between $10,000-$12,000. Agents also seized a digital scale, a razor blade and a glass dish with cocaine residue. In addition to the warrant, Barnett also was charged with possession of cocaine, trafficking in cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia. Sheriff’s investigators also seized his pickup truck. Barnett was booked into the Volusia County Branch Jail in Daytona Beach on $77,000 bond.