Kansas City postal carrier is charged with distributing gallons of PCP through the mail

A Kansas City postal carrier and a California man face federal prosecution in an alleged conspiracy to distribute gallons of PCP through the mail.

Postal carrier Carol Barfield, 64, and Michael Garrett, 56, of Victorville, Calif., were charged March 29. Federal prosecutors announced the charges Tuesday after both defendants were arrested and appeared in court.

Prosecutors say Garrett mailed packages of PCP from Victorville to addresses on Barfield’s postal route in Kansas City so Barfield could mark them as delivered but keep them and divert them to intended recipients elsewhere.

The PCP was packaged in 64-ounce plastic Welch’s Grape Juice bottles, according to court records. On one occasion, investigators found four parcels containing a total of eight bottles, amounting to about four gallons.

The case began when a Drug Enforcement Administration agent received a tip about Garrett mailing PCP from Victorville. U.S. Postal Service investigators searched a database of postal records and identified five suspicious deliveries from Victorville to Kansas City, including 15 packages each weighing more than 10 pounds and paid for in cash.

Postal records showed Barfield allegedly delivered all of the packages on her route. Agents identified 61 telephone calls between Barfield and Garrett during the time frame of the deliveries, according to court records.

On March 1, federal agents captured surveillance video showing Garrett mailing four parcels from the Victorville post office. On March 4, federal agents in Kansas City followed Barfield as she took the packages on her delivery route. Barfield scanned the first package as delivered but did not actually deliver it, according to prosecutors.

Later that day, Barfield realized she was being followed and returned to the post office, according to a postal inspector’s affidavit. Federal agents opened the packages and found the bottles filled with PCP.

Garrett has served time in federal prison for distribution of crack cocaine. In 1991 he was given a 30-year sentence, but he was released in 2011 after sentencing guidelines changed.

This story was originally published April 5, 2016 at 5:51 PM with the headline "Kansas City postal carrier is charged with distributing gallons of PCP through the mail."