Man Sentenced to Prison for Twelve Probation Violations

A Laramie man who violated his probation 12 times in 8 months was sentenced to prison Thursday in Albany County District Court.

Joseph Barna, 24, will serve three to five years in prison with credit for 15 days already served. Judge Jeffrey Donnell included a recommendation for the boot camp program and, should Barna complete that program, he would become eligible for a possible sentence reduction.

“I hope, Mr. Barna, you get it through your head this time – we’re not kidding," said Donnell.

Barna was arrested Jan. 21 after he was unsuccessfully terminated from the Intensive Supervision Program and treatment at Peak Wellness Center.

Those terminations accounted for just two of Barna’s 12 total probation violations, which included using methamphetamine, marijuana and alcohol.

Court documents say Barna also used a detox agent in trying to pass a drug test, associated with known felons and intoxicated people, lied to his probation agent, possessed alcohol, and failed to report for a urinalysis – all violations of his probation.

In court Thursday, Donnell said Barna’s violations were at least as idiotic as the original crime.

Barna pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit possession with intent to deliver marijuana in Oct. 2014 and was placed on three years on supervised probation with an underlying three to five year prison sentence.

Laramie police found marijuana paraphernalia in plain view at Barna’s Campus Habitat apartment on Jan. 17, 2014. Officers obtained a search warrant and that evening found glass pipes, roughly 33 grams of marijuana in mason jars and loose in the living room, two glass bongs, a digital scale next to plastic sandwich bags, and a dry-erase board with a hand-written “pay/owe” sheet in the bedroom among other paraphernalia.

Police learned through a confidential source that Barna had received six packages containing marijuana from his mother in California since Sept. 30, 2013.

Court documents say police responded to Campus Habitat again Jan. 18 where an employee had one of Barna’s packages. Police executed a search warrant and found a pair of grey sweatpants, a piece of tin foil, and nearly 6 ounces of marijuana in a plastic bag.