Ocala, Florida — Marion County residents can rest a little easier knowing a violent drug-dealing criminal is off the streets and behind bars.
On October 29, 2014, the Marion County Sheriff’s Office Fugitive Apprehension Unit received an anonymous tip on the location of a subject who was featured on one of their crime prevention kiosks Tuesday afternoon.
Deputies responded to 1821 SW 3rd Street in an attempt to serve three warrants on Vonkeith Barnes, 34.
When deputies arrived, Barnes was standing in the backyard of the residence. When they attempted to confront Barnes, he fled into the house, where he was apprehended.
Deputies found a bag of marijuana in plain view on the back porch of the home. The residence was secured and the Tactical Investigations Unit drafted a search warrant for the house.
Upon execution of the search warrant, they found 297 grams of marijuana, two grams of MDMA (also known as Molly), 26 grams of a white powdery substance, three unidentified pills, a fully loaded .40 caliber semi-auto handgun, a rifle, and a fully loaded .357 revolver.
The unidentified substances were sent to a lab for testing.
According to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office, Federal gun charges may be brought against Barnes due to his lengthy criminal history and extremely violent past.
Barnes was arrested on the three warrants, but charges are still pending.
Barnes is a career criminal and was charged as felon before the age of 18. He has been arrested 27 times in Marion County with more than 50 charges against him.
This arrest brings the capture count for the kiosks to 32.
The arrest comes after the MCSO’s kiosk program received an award for Outstanding Crime Prevention Program of the Year last Thursday.