Carnival worker linked to murder gets 180 days in jail

A St. Charles man whose testimony helped seal a murder conviction against a fellow carnival worker this week was sentenced Wednesday to 180 days in jail for his role in the fatal stabbing.

Darren A. Barnett, 43, pleaded guilty to attempted obstructing justice under a plea deal in which a more serious charge, obstructing justice, was dismissed. Kane County Judge Timothy Q. Sheldon accepted the plea.

Because Barnett has already served about 140 days in custody while awaiting trial, his jail term likely will end in about a month, followed by one year of probation, a prosecutor said.

Barnett cleaned up blood and destroyed other evidence after a Sept. 21, 2008, stabbing at a bunk house for employees of Windy City Amusements, a carnival company, on the 900 block of West Main Street in St. Charles.

On Monday, he testified against co-worker Arthur Manning 58, who subsequently was found guilty of murdering Naromi N. Mannery, 28, of St. Charles, after Mannery showed up at the bunk house intoxicated and refused to leave.

Also charged with first-degree murder are Manning's brother, Guy Manning, 51, and Willie L. Wimberly, 56. Both were carnival workers living at the bunk house.

Wimberly and Guy Manning each have pleaded not guilty and are due in court Feb. 19 and March 26, respectively. Arthur Manning faces up to 60 years in prison at sentencing April 22.