Prosecutors do not expect a plea anytime soon from a Morgan Hill
man who allegedly drove a truck at sheriff’s deputies en route to
evading them three times this past summer.
Prosecutors do not expect a plea anytime soon from a Morgan Hill man who allegedly drove a truck at sheriff’s deputies en route to evading them three times this past summer.
Joel Barnes, 39, faces a litany of charges ranging from misdemeanor battery to felony assault on a police officer and various weapons charges, including possession of a machine gun, carrying a concealed dagger and possession of a sap – which is similar to a baton or blackjack. His misdemeanor charges, however, will trail the felony charges, said Deputy District Attorney Cindy Hendrickson, who is prosecuting Barnes’ most egregious offense, the assault on a police officer. The charges carry more than 20 years of possible prison time.
However, the number and sheer variety of charges Barnes faces will prevent him from entering a plea in the near future, she said.
A deputy ushered Barnes into the courtroom after all the other inmates were seated Tuesday afternoon. Wearing red prison garb, his hair freshly combed, Barnes did not speak during his hearing, as he has done at previous hearings.
Barnes’ court appointed attorney, Kelly Brooks, said his charges require more investigation before her client is prepared to enter a plea.
Although Barnes will next appear in court 9 a.m. Jan. 29 in Department 109 at the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill for a plea hearing, he will likely not enter a plea at that time either, Brooks said.
Barnes eluded Santa Clara County Sheriff’s deputies a total of three times this summer as they attempted to arrest him on warrants for felony false imprisonment and assault, and ran from Morgan Hill police on one occasion, Hendrickson said.
Barnes provoked deputies into shooting at him while he escaped their capture by driving his truck at them. Two days later, deputies cornered Barnes at a home in Watsonville. Barnes again ran from police but a SWAT team and canine officers found him hiding inside nearby bushes.
Barnes served 11 years for voluntary manslaughter after killing the mother of his child with a single stab wound to the chest in 1995.
