PHOENIX, AZ (December 5, 2013) – Joshua Barnes (D.O.B. 2/4/1980) has been ordered to serve two concurrent 15-year sentences in the Arizona Department of Corrections for a violent home invasion that victimized three elderly residents in Sun City earlier this year. Both sentences exceed the presumptive term for a first time felony conviction for a class 2 dangerous offense under Arizona sentencing guidelines.
“The court appropriately rejected this defendant’s efforts to minimize the seriousness of his offenses and focused instead on the significant harm he caused these victims, who continue to suffer the aftereffects of this shocking crime,” said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery. “That this was a first offense for this defendant does not and should not prevent him from facing full accountability for his actions,” he added.
At around 1:30 a.m. on June 21, 2013, Joshua Barnes entered the home of Dave Sobley and his wife Audrey armed with a loaded weapon. Mrs. Sobley awoke to see the defendant standing in her bedroom wearing a long blonde wig. He ordered her to lay face down on the ground and demanded to know where the couple “kept the gold.” He also told her that if she wanted to live she would do exactly what he told her to do.
Mr. Sobley, a Vietnam war veteran, heard the commotion from his separate bedroom down the hall. When he went to investigate, Barnes threatened to kill him and ordered him crawl back to his bedroom. When Sobley did not comply, due to a prosthetic knee, Barnes proceeded to stomp on his head and press the gun against his spine. Barnes then redirected his attention toward Mrs. Sobley, which allowed Mr. Sobley to retrieve a firearm and fire a single shot, striking Barnes in his trigger hand and neck.
Barnes fled the residence. Officers from MCSO responded to 9-1-1 calls from other residents in the area. After eight hours of attempting to elude capture, Barnes was discovered and arrested on a golf course in the area of Mountain View Road and Venturi Drive. A subsequent investigation indicated that on the same evening Barnes also unlawfully entered a residence belonging to Sharon Ann Ragan, who was not at home at the time.
On June 28, 2013, the Grand Jurors of Maricopa County indicted Barnes on two counts of Burglary, two counts of Kidnapping, and two counts of Aggravated Assault. He signed a plea agreement to two counts of Kidnapping and one count of Burglary. In addition to the concurrent 15-year prison terms imposed by the Honorable Peter Reinstein, Barnes will be placed on five years of supervised probation following his release.
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