Dateline: December 20, 2001

Pampa woman gets 16 years on drug charges   

Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise

A Pampa woman was found guilty last week of criminal drug charges stemming from a 2000 arrest at Greenbelt Lake.

Candace Sue Barker was sentenced to 16 years in the Texas State Penitentiary on Tuesday, December 11, by District Judge David McCoy following a bench trial in the Commissioners’ Courtroom of the Donley County Courthouse Annex. Barker was found guilty of possession of a methamphetamine at the lake on July 5, 2000.

The defendant was represented at trial by Mike Warner of Amarillo, and the State of Texas was represented by District Attorney Stuart Messer.

According to the DA’s office, the investigation and successful prosecution of Barker’s case resulted from the joint efforts of the Donley County Sheriff’s Department, Greenbelt Lake Patrol officers, and the local Texas Department of Public Safety. Testimony was also given by an officer from the Panhandle Regional Drug Task Force.

“The key to this case was the cooperation between the different law enforcement agencies and their willingness to work with our office to prosecute this drug offense,” said Messer. “Hopefully, this will let others know drug possession is taken seriously in Donley County.”

According to published reports, Barker was taken into custody last summer after the local sheriff’s department received a call of a woman brandishing a gun on Sandy Beach. Officers found the woman with a flashlight and a lock-blade knife, walking the beach. A subsequent search of her vehicle found the controlled substance.

Following her arrest, officers said the woman, who was 34 at the time, had a lengthy criminal history.

Barker will be eligible for parole after 25 percent of her sentence is served, Messer said Monday.