Dunklin County Man Sentenced to 128 Months in Prison for Methamphetamine Sales

CAPE GIRARDEAU – U.S. District Judge Stephen N. Limbaugh Jr. on Tuesday sentenced a man who sold methamphetamine twice in 2023 to 128 months in prison.

Clayton E. Barnes, 53, of Kennett, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cape Girardeau in April to two counts of distribution of methamphetamine. He admitted selling 54.4 grams of meth for $600 on Aug. 17, 2023, to a confidential informant and a Missouri State Highway Patrol corporal in the parking lot of a Kennett store. Six days later, the corporal returned to the market and bought 102.62 grams of meth from Barnes for $1,300.

Barnes qualified as a career offender, having prior convictions that include a 2009 conviction for selling 8 grams of cocaine base and a 2020 conviction for selling 14 grams of meth.  

The Southeast Missouri Drug Task Force investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Hunter prosecuted the case.