Oconee County Sheriff’s Office Arrests Easley Man on a Kidnapping Charge

An Easley man remains in jail today, at the Oconee County Detention Center, after his bond was denied on charges of Kidnapping and Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor.

35 year old Jeremy David Barnes, of Rotterdam Road, will appear before a Circuit Court Judge, at a later time, regarding his bond. Barnes was booked into the Oconee County Detention Center around 5:26pm Monday.

The charges against Barnes stemmed from an investigation into a missing teenager who left home with Barnes earlier this week. According to warrants obtained by an Investigator with the Criminal Investigations Bureau, Barnes lured the teenager away from home by using sex and illicit drugs as a decoy.

The arrest warrants also state that Barnes caused the minor to leave home on other occasions between July of last year and the end of January of this year without cause or consent. The teenager was located this week and is safe, according to Investigators.

The Oconee County Sheriff’s Office is continuing its investigation. The Sheriff’s Office also
will not release any information that could, either directly or indirectly, identify the teenager in this case due to the fact the teenager is a minor under the law.