The man accused of slashing tents at a homeless encampment last week appeared to be carrying a firearm and had been threatening and harassing people for two weeks before the incident, according to court records.
The warrants were signed March 8 against 42-year-old Daniel Barnett, who also goes by the name Davinci Barcelo. The warrants include misdemeanor counts of criminal trespass/property damage and reckless conduct for allegedly endangering people at the homeless encampment on Old Wheat Street. The encampment in the Sweet Auburn neighborhood is the same one where Cornelius Taylor died in January during a city camp clearing operation.
A man named Rodney Johnson was inside one of the tents when Barnett slashed through the outer and inner layers, according to the documents.
Atlanta Police Department officers responded to the scene March 7. Witnesses told investigators that Barnett, who they identified as a security guard known as “Davinci,” appeared to be carrying a weapon.
“Mr. Barnett is seen walking away from the area where the tents are located with what appears to be a long gun on his side,” the probable cause affidavit states. “Upon speaking with several witnesses on scene, he did not point the gun or threaten to use the gun on them at that time, it was just on his shoulder.”
Officers asked people at the camp why no one had called 911.
“All victims stated they were afraid to call the police and reported ‘not feeling like the police would help,’” the affidavit says.
A March 6 cellphone video shows a man resembling Barnett slashing, tearing and cutting several tents at the encampment.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Barnett told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday that the allegations were “categorically false.” He said he was not armed and that no one was inside the tents.
His attorney, John Melnick, also denied the allegations. Though he had not reviewed the warrants, Melnick said Wednesday that phone footage of the incident did not tell the whole story.
The attorney said Barnett was on duty as a security guard for the nonprofit Historic District Development Corp., and even though the encampment is on a public street, he was taking action because of a perceived risk to private property. Melnick declined to detail the nature of that danger but said Barnett was often at the camp trying to help or assist people.
“He absolutely did not mean any harm or ill will toward any of the people at the encampment,” Melnick said. “I don’t think the video accurately depicts everything that was happening.”
Historic District Development Corp. President Cheneé Joseph has said Barnett was not on duty as a security guard and instead described him as a financial consultant.
In the internal email, Joseph said a fire broke out at the encampment and that Barnett had taken a fire extinguisher from the nonprofit’s offices to put it out. She suggested he was moved to act because he had waited 45 minutes for the fire department but the crew had not come.
“Rather than leaving the site, he began damaging the encampment tents and engaging in additional activity that was not endorsed or requested by myself or any HDDC staff,” the internal email says.
She added that the organization has cut ties with Barnett and would no longer use his services.
Credit: linkedin
Credit: linkedin
Lolita Griffeth, girlfriend of the man killed during the clearing on Jan. 16, still lives at the camp. She told the AJC that a man came to the encampment March 7 and used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire she was using to stay warm. She did not describe the fire as uncontained or out of control.
Additional warrants from 2021 and 2022, obtained by the AJC on Wednesday, reveal more details about Barnett’s previous encounters with law enforcement. Those documents show a temporary protection order filed against him after he faced charges of allegedly harassing and stalking an ex-girlfriend.
The stalking allegations date back to August 2021, when Barnett was accused of repeatedly contacting his ex-girlfriend through phone calls, social media and tracking her movements with a GPS device he had planted under her car seat.
According to an affidavit for arrest, he also sent her QR codes in packages that, when scanned, prompted her phone to send him a message. Barnett also allegedly showed up uninvited to multiple locations where his ex-girlfriend was with other people, according to the Aug. 26, 2021, warrant for his arrest.
A July 6, 2022, felony warrant for aggravated stalking states that Barnett violated a temporary protective order by showing up at her workplace and continuing to track her movements with GPS.
The Fulton County Court’s protection order barred Barnett from coming within 200 yards of the woman.
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com
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