Pastor Danny Barnes claims he was the biggest pimp in Colorado.
Whether the assertion he makes in a video posted on MySpace is true is tough to verify.
But saying he has a long rap sheet would be no exaggeration.
Barnes has at least two aliases and has used several different spellings of his name. He has an arrest record in at least five states and served prison time in at least two.
Here's a sampling of the pastor's criminal past:
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- Police in Lakewood, Colo., arrested Barnes in 1985 in connection with a stabbing that left a victim with multiple injuries, according to court records and the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
Prosecutors dismissed charges after the victim left the state and could not be found to testify, records show.
- In 1989, Barnes was sentenced to three years in a Colorado prison after he pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting a child, according to court records and the Colorado Department of Corrections.
- In the mid-1980s in Colorado, Barnes faced several charges of pimping and pandering, but was never convicted. Court records from Jefferson County say prosecutors dismissed at least one of the cases because crucial witnesses could not be located.
Colorado law defines pimping as being supported by money obtained through prostitution. Pandering is inducing a person by intimidation or menacing to commit prostitution or offering to arrange prostitution.
- In 1987, Barnes pleaded guilty to attempting to act as a bondsman in Colorado and served a deferred sentence, records show.
- Barnes had several criminal cases in Arizona between 1998 and 2002. He was found guilty of using a weapon in a drug offense and disorderly conduct, a background search shows.
- He served one year in prison in 1981 in Stillwater, Minn., for a Ramsey County conviction of possessing cocaine, the Minnesota Department of Corrections said.
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Wheaton incidents
Barnes has had 102 contacts with police during the three years he's lived in Wheaton, Minn., police say.
He has two separate disorderly conduct convictions in Traverse County District Court, records show.
In one incident from 2005, Barnes admitted striking a teenage boy who was out of control.
He had a probation violation in that case for punching and kicking a child as punishment for using swear words, records show.
Barnes acknowledges that he's gotten physical with young men who are "being belligerent, violent or disruptive in my church service" or who threaten their mothers.
People come to the church for counseling, and domestic violence is not permitted, he said.
Barnes is set for a jury trial next month on charges of assaulting a police officer.
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Court records say Barnes head-butted a police officer in December while police were arresting one of Barnes' drug treatment clients. Barnes had told police about the man's arrest warrant, but became angry when the officers told the man he was the informant.
In a Sept. 26 incident, Barnes is accused of hitting 19-year-old Jessie Wayne Allen of Wheaton with a metal pipe.
He now faces three assault charges, including felony second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
Court records say Allen told police he went to see Barnes to ask why he'd been telling people Allen was a cocaine dealer. Allen said Barnes then hit him in the head with a metal pipe and began fighting with him on the ground.
Barnes told The Forum that Allen yanked the screen door to his church office open, threatened him and said racial slurs.
Barnes said he told Allen to calm down and go home. However, he said there were cars across the street with people yelling at Allen to, "Get the (expletive) nigger."
Both men were jailed overnight. Allen, who was charged with fifth-degree assault, declined to comment.
Readers can reach Forum reporters Amy Dalrymple at (701) 241-5590 and Teri Finneman at (701) 241-5560 Most recent charges top pastor's long police record By Amy Dalrymple and Teri Finneman 20071007
