Former KC Postal Worker Barfield Guilty in PCP Mail Conspiracy

Carol Barfield, 65, of Kansas City, Mo., has admitted her role in a brazen federal drug conspiracy, pleading guilty to trafficking multi-kilogram quantities of PCP through the U.S. mail. The former postal carrier exploited her position to deliver illicit shipments mailed by California-based co-conspirator Michael Garrett, 57, of Victorville, Calif., who pleaded guilty in September 2016 to drug distribution and using a telephone in furtherance of a drug crime.

Between Nov. 2, 2015, and March 4, 2016, Garrett shipped 15 parcels, each weighing over 10 pounds, to fake addresses along Barfield’s postal route. Inside each package: two 64-ounce Welch’s Grape Juice bottles filled with liquid PCP. On March 4, 2016, federal agents intercepted four of those parcels after surveillance video captured Garrett mailing them under a false name in Victorville. Barfield loaded them onto her postal vehicle but never completed delivery—instead scanning one as delivered, another as undeliverable, and ultimately returning all four to the post office.

When the homeowner at one address—where a non-resident was listed—arrived moments after Barfield left a package on the front steps, he retrieved it and returned it to her in person, baffled. Barfield claimed she sensed surveillance and began covering her tracks by falsifying delivery statuses. Agents later opened the parcels, recovering approximately 13.45 kilograms of liquid PCP—nearly 30 pounds of the dangerous dissociative anesthetic.

According to her plea agreement, Barfield admitted Garrett had mailed packages to her route five or six times, typically in batches of three. In some cases, Garrett flew into Kansas City where Barfield handed off the drugs directly. Other times, she passed them to an associate. When no handoff occurred, she left the packages at the listed address, fully aware that Garrett or his crew would retrieve them.

In exchange, Garrett provided Barfield with clothes, car repairs, and cash—up to $500 at a single time. She told investigators he “basically took care of her,” though she couldn’t recall the total amount of money she received. Phone records confirm repeated calls between Barfield and Garrett, including on the exact dates of mailings and deliveries.

Barfield pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Howard F. Sachs in the Western District of Missouri. Under federal statutes, she now faces up to 20 years in federal prison. The case, prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, underscores how trusted public servants can weaponize their roles to feed the nation’s drug trade—one tainted package at a time.