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65 °F Forecast | Road Cams Sunday, September 12, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend May 26, 2004 Lawyer to appeal robbery conviction By ANITA BURKE Mail Tribune A Medford mortgage broker has pleaded guilty to robbery, kidnap and theft charges stemming from a "raid" he and several other men carried out against an Applegate gun collector in April 2002. Kirby Lee Barker, 44, of the 3300 block of Ford Drive, Medford, entered the pleas Tuesday in Jackson County Circuit Court. His pleas acknowledged that he stole guns, and he and two other men brandished weapons and threatened force while stealing property and forcing the victim to move around his property against his will. However, his attorney, Jay W. Frank, plans to appeal the conviction on the grounds that stolen guns seized from Barker’s home and his statement to investigators shouldn’t be used as evidence. Investigators claimed that Barker; Jeffrey Truman Shepard, 25; and Matthew Steven Phillips, 29, went to the home of a reclusive Applegate man, claiming to be federal agents. They tied and blindfolded him, then prodded him with shotgun barrels and herded him to get keys to unlock cargo containers where he stored a vast collection of firearms, military surplus items, knives and camping equipment. They made off with an estimated $50,000 worth of weapons and gear, investigators said. Advertisement The Jackson County Sheriff’s Office investigated, but had no leads until Drug Enforcement Administration agents working a separate drug case searched Barker’s home and his business, Southern Oregon Mortgage, in July 2002. Agents found 31 rifles, 17 pistols, eight boxes of ammunition, three bayonets, two sets of night-vision goggles, a bullet-proof vest and an incendiary grenade in his garage and a secret compartment in a shed, federal court documents said. They also found marijuana, hashish, hash oil and hallucinogenic mushrooms in the garage. Federal agents got the search warrant after an informant bought more than a pound of amphetamines from Barker and Shepard in May 2002. In the search-warrant affidavit filed in federal court in Medford, agents said they planned to look for general evidence of drug dealing, including drugs, money, records and weapons. Frank argued that because the agents weren’t looking for stolen guns, the evidence they found wasn’t obtained legally and shouldn’t be allowed in Circuit Court. He also wanted to suppress a statement Barker made to county and federal investigators about how he got the guns. Frank claimed investigators interviewed Barker against the wishes of his attorney, thus depriving him of his right to counsel. Judges denied Frank’s requests to suppress those two key pieces of evidence, so Barker pleaded guilty to charges of first-degree robbery, first- and second-degree kidnapping and first-degree theft. Frank plans to appeal the decisions about the evidence after Barker is sentenced. Sentencing is set for July 23, the same day Barker is to be sentenced in the separate federal drug case. In June 2003, he pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of distribution of more than 50 grams of methamphetamine, possession of an unregistered short-barrel Uzi and possession while he was a meth user of a semi-automatic rifle that was shipped across state lines, court records said. Shepard and Phillips are scheduled to go to trial in Circuit Court on kidnap and robbery charges in October. Reach reporter Anita Burke at 776-4485, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities