Christian Barnes, a 38-year-old resident of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for his role in distributing fentanyl that led to a fatal overdose. The sentencing took place on January 27, 2026, before United States District Judge Karoline Mehalchick.
According to United States Attorney Brian D. Miller, Barnes sold approximately 1.3 grams of fentanyl to Jennifer Giuli on November 4, 2021. Giuli then sold half a gram of the drug to a Kingston resident who later died after ingesting it. Both Barnes and Giuli pleaded guilty to charges related to drug delivery resulting in death. Judge Mehalchick previously sentenced Giuli to 240 months in prison on May 27, 2025.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Kingston Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jenny P. Roberts prosecuted the case.
“This case is part of Operation Take Back America,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The initiative aims to use all available resources from the Department of Justice to combat illegal immigration, eliminate cartels and transnational criminal organizations, and protect communities from violent crime perpetrators (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline).
