MACON, Ga. — One of the four inmates who escaped the Bibb County Jail in October pleaded not guilty before a judge Monday in Macon.
Johnifer Dernard Barnwell, 37, of Macon, is charged with one count of escape from custody.
His co-defendant, Janecia Green, 30, of Macon, is charged with one count of aiding and abetting Barnwell’s escape from custody and one count of assisting the escape of a person committed to custody.
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Each charge carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.
According to the indictment, Barnwell was being held at the Bibb County Jail after he was convicted on Oct. 2 of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, and heroin; possession with intent to distribute fentanyl, methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine, and cocaine base.
He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison and a $10 million fine for those charges.
A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled for those crimes.
Barnwell allegedly escaped the Bibb County Jail on Oct. 16 with help from Green.
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He was captured by deputies from the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and FBI SWAT on Nov. 12 in Augusta, about a two-hour drive from Macon.
Deputies said when they located Barnwell, they found huge amounts of drugs, possibly for trafficking, inside the home.
Agents suspect the drugs to be meth, fentanyl, heroin, marijuana and cocaine. The drugs will be tested in a lab.
All four inmates that escaped the jail have been taken into custody.
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