Former 'American Idol' star Antonella Barba, 32, pleads guilty to fentanyl possession
Former 'American Idol' star, Antonella Barba, who made it to the top 16 on the sixth season of the series, currently faces 10 years in jail.
On Tuesday, July 30, in a federal court in Virginia, Barba pleaded guilty to being in possession of at least 400 grams of fentanyl with an intention to distribute it. According to plea agreement filed, federal prosecutors claim a judge could decide to send the former star to prison for life, ask for $10 million in fines, as well as seek asset forfeiture at her sentencing that is set to take place in late November. But also noted in a statement that "actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties.”
Nine months after her initial arrest, Barba pleaded guilty to 10 separate counts on Tuesday. She pleaded guilty four months after she was indicted on 11 federal charges and one count that includes conspiracy to distribute and possess heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl along with an intent to distribute and 10 counts of distribution or possession of cocaine heroin, cocaine, and fentanyl.
The 32-year-old singer was first arrested on Duke Street in Norfolk in October 2018. Barba who grew up in Jersey Shore was originally charged with selling or intending to sell 100 grams or more of heroin, according to court records in Virginia. Initially, she denied the charges.
Later, according to court records those state charges were later supplanted by the federal charges of possession with an intention and conspiracy. A statement of facts filed in connection with the plea agreement state that investigators had been tracking Justin Michael "Cali" Issac of California, assuming he "was a source for kilogram quantities of cocaine and heroin."
On October 11, 2018, the court records determine that he was heading to a "stash" apartment in Norfolk from Washington DC, but then overheard a phone call in which Issac said a woman was delivering the drugs. The investigators who were staking out the apartment then found Barba in a car, and a shoebox of fentanyl lying on the floor.
The statement also claims that Issac and several other defendants were also named in the same federal indictment as Barba.