Child Predator Sting Case Has Federal Twist; DA Wants Lab Results on DNA in Manslaughter Retrial; and Attempted Murder Trial Approaches–Inside Humboldt Courts
Humboldt County Correctional Facility. [Composite image for Inside Humboldt Courts by Ryan Hutson]
In this column, Redheaded Blackbelt provides a regular look at what’s moving through the local courts — tracking hearings, trials, and filings in cases that are either well known or warrant closer public attention. As always, individuals described should be presumed innocent until proven guilty.
IN THE CASE OF: Derek Barnett — FBI Sting Led to Federal Charge
[Derek Barnett, 2019 Booking Photo from California Dept. of Corrections.]
“Better not be a set up” was the last text Derek Ryan Barnett sent to the decoy — who he allegedly believed was a 14 year old girl — on the morning he went to meet her.
In fact, she wasn’t 14. She was a fake persona being used by a civilian informant cooperating with the FBI. That’s according to the Federal complaint we reviewed.
Barnett, 37, of McKinleyville, was arrested at the park at approximately noon on December 23, 2024.
According to a federal criminal complaint filed in May 2026 by FBI Special Agent Kyle Winn — a former Humboldt State University police officer and former Humboldt County deputy probation officer — Barnett had spent the previous two months pursuing someone he believed was a 14-year-old girl he’d met on Facebook Dating.
The decoy profile, named “Anastasia” or “Ana,” was used by a civilian cooperating with federal law enforcement. The online profile listed the user’s age as 24, but when Barnett first messaged “Ana” in October 2024, she told him, “im not 18 yet,” and “im 14.” According to the federal complaint, Barnett was undeterred by that admission.
He kept talking to her for two months.
What followed, as described within the FBI affidavit, was a sustained campaign of grooming. Barnett sent “Ana” photos and videos of himself — including, on multiple occasions, explicit images of his genitals —alongside text messages encouraging “Ana” to reciprocate with images.
![An image of texts exchanged between Barnett and the decoy included in the federal complaint reveal that “Ana” informed Barnett of her supposed age, with Barnett expressing approval. [Screengrab image from Federal Complaint filed May 20, 2026.]](https://kymkemp.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/image1-1-524x900.jpg)
An image of texts exchanged between Barnett and the decoy included in the federal complaint reveal that “Ana” informed Barnett of her supposed age, with Barnett expressing approval. [Screengrab image from Federal Complaint filed May 20, 2026.]
On October 22, he asked her for sexual photos of herself. On November 1, he sent her explicit images of himself. On November 2, he told her, “I honestly feel like you’re the one.”
On November 7, he sent a Google Maps link to his home address. By mid-November, they were discussing her visiting him in Arcata that December. The messages continued through late November and into December, growing increasingly graphic and explicit.
On December 18, he wrote, “I’m gonna put my dick in your mouth. And see if you have a gag reflex.”
On December 21, he sent her an explicit video of himself. And then on December 22 — the day before the arranged meeting — this exchange is recorded in the complaint:
Barnett: “Im old enough to be your dad”
“Ana”: “yea if u had a kid wen u wer only 21 tho”
Barnett: “I think it’s hot”
Barnett: “Wish I could find more like u”
“Ana”: “wdym”
Barnett: “More young girls”
Then, on December 23, Barnett drove to the park, and was arrested on arrival. His phone was seized by the FBI Agents.
In a post-arrest interview, according to the complaint, Barnett confessed to knowing “Ana” was 14 years old and even admitted to sending her explicit images of himself. Despite that admission, he also told agents he was not planning to do anything with “Ana”.
A federal search warrant was later executed on his phone, and a forensic data extraction confirmed the messages. The final text he sent before leaving for the park, “Better not be a set up. Like me going to jail.”
He went anyway.
The federal charge — Attempted Enticement and Coercion of a Minor under 18 — carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison and a maximum of life. A conviction would also carry a $250,000 fine and a minimum five-year term of supervised release.
The federal case was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, on May 20, 2026, and was initially sealed. The complaint was unsealed four days later after the government’s motion to unseal it.
Barnett appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson in San Francisco on May 22 for his initial appearance, represented by federal public defender Candis Mitchell. Despite a government motion to detain him, Barnett was released on a $25,000 bond in May, according the Federal court minutes of May 26, 2026.
He is not in custody in Humboldt County, according to the Sheriff’s current in-custody population list. And, local court minutes indicate that he had posted a $35,000 bail imposed by Humboldt County courts on December 26, 2024 — just days after his arrest by federal agents.
His next federal court date is August 10, 2026 in San Francisco for arraignment, preliminary examination, and a status conference.
Separately, in Humboldt County Superior Court, Barnett faces three felony charges filed in December 2024 related to the sting. Those charges include meeting a minor for lewd purposes, distributing harmful sexual material to a minor, and contacting a minor with intent to commit a sex offense.
At a June 12 local court hearing, defense counsel noted the federal case and raised the possibility that the state charges could be dismissed. The District Attorney’s office said it had no information about a potential dismissal and asked for time to investigate.
A separate misdemeanor contempt case was filed against Barnett in April 2026 for allegedly violating conditions set by the state court at the time of his December 2024 arraignment. He pleaded no contest to that charge on May 21 and was placed on probation, with conditions including no contact with victims and no presence near schools or parks.
A conviction on any of the charges — state or federal — would require lifetime sex offender registration under California law.
Prior coverage:
IN THE CASE OF: Destinee Rhamy — Retrial Pushed to September
Destinee Rhamy Booking Photo
Following the mistrial earlier this year, the mother of the victim in the case told us, “It’s up to the jury — if that’s who they want out in their community, I get to go home. I don’t have to see them again.”
That was Kaye Elbik, the mother of Holland “Holly” Elbik, speaking to Redheaded Blackbelt on March 12 — the day a Humboldt County jury deadlocked and declined to convict Destinee Grace Rhamy in the stabbing death of her 27-year-old Eureka roommate. The jury’s decision was 7 to 5, split in favor of acquittal — not enough for a verdict either way. A mistrial was declared.
Nearly three years after Holland Elbik died from stab wounds she sustained during an altercation at her home on West Sonoma Street in Eureka on August 2, 2023, the case remains unresolved. Rhamy was 20 years old when she was arrested, and she has been out on $130,000 bail since November 2023.
A retrial had been scheduled for June 15.
It was vacated on that date — meaning it was pulled from the calendar without being heard — and reset to September 14, 2026.
In the meantime, a new legal motion has entered the picture. On May 26, Rhamy’s defense attorney, Andrea Sullivan, filed a petition seeking mental health diversion — a process under California law that allows eligible defendants to pause criminal proceedings and enter a treatment program, with the possibility of having charges dismissed upon successful completion.
The prosecution, led by Senior Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees, has been actively preparing for September, with multiple subpoenas issued for witnesses including out-of-state subpoenas filed in recent months.
Rhamy faces the same counts as before – one count of voluntary manslaughter and one count of assault with a deadly weapon, both in connection with Elbik’s death. A special allegation that she used a knife accompanies the manslaughter charge.
Prior coverage:
- Breaking News: Hung Jury in Case Where Woman Allegedly Stabbed Her Roommate — March 12, 2026
- Woman Wanted for Homicide Surrenders to Eureka Police — September 27, 2023
IN THE CASE OF: Marion Miller — Defense Drops Diversion Bid
After more than two years in custody and a lengthy legal detour through mental health proceedings, a man accused of attempted murder of an Arcata Police officer is finally heading toward trial.
According to the felony complaint filed by the DA, on June 1 in 2024, Arcata Police Department officer Riley Tippin was on duty when, according to prosecutors, Miller attempted to kill him.
Marion AuthorMirth Miller, 39, faces charges of attempted murder of a peace officer, threatening or resisting an executive officer through force or violence, assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, and criminal threats. According to the information filed by District Attorney Stacey Eads, the criminal threats count alleges the threat was so “unequivocal, unconditional, immediate and specific as to convey to Riley Tippin a gravity of purpose and an immediate prospect of execution,” and that Tippin “was reasonably in sustained fear of his safety and the safety of his immediate family.”
A special allegation of great bodily injury is attached to two counts against Miller, which suggests that Tippin was injured. The charging information signed by District Attorney Stacey Eads describes the alleged attempted murder as “willful, deliberate, and premeditated.”
Miller has been held at the Humboldt County Jail since the day of the incident, June of 2024. Bail is set at $750,000 and has not posted. As of this writing, Miller has been in custody locally for more than 750 days.
For much of the two years since the arrest, the case has been sidetracked by legal proceedings over Miller’s mental health. Defense attorney Linkous had pursued a mental health diversion petition — a process that, if granted, would have paused the criminal case and placed Miller in a treatment program, rather than proceeding directly to trial.
The defense also asked for what is known as military diversion — a California law that allows eligible veterans or active-duty service members with service-related conditions like PTSD or traumatic brain injuries to pause criminal proceedings and enter treatment instead of standing trial. It would have also offered the possibility of having charges dismissed upon completion. Both avenues were ultimately withdrawn by the defense — the military diversion petition quietly dropped from the calendar, and the mental health diversion petition formally pulled on June 8, 2026.
With that door closed, the case now heads straight to trial.
A readiness conference is scheduled for June 30, 2026. Jury trial is set for July 13, 2026 — less than four weeks away. The prosecution is being handled by Senior Deputy District Attorney Roger Rees. Miller is represented by Attorney Rebecca Linkous.
This column is based primarily on court records and daily calendars. This reporting is intended to give readers a clearer sense of how criminal and civil cases progress over time. When court hearings produce significant new information, those developments may be covered separately in a more thorough news article. As with all criminal matters, individuals named here are presumed innocent unless proven guilty in a court of law.
If you know of a case with significant public interest that you would like followed, email us at [email protected].
EARLIER:
Warning! Difficult Testimony in Child Molestation Trial; School Threat Defendant Seeks Diversion and More — Inside Humboldt Courts — May 28, 2026
One Jury Deadlocked, Another Convicted, and Judges Keep Stepping Aside Inside Humboldt Courts — June 10, 2026
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