The son of former Washington mayor Marion Barry has been spared jail time in his own drug case.
A judge on Tuesday gave the younger Barry, the son of the mayor who was caught smoking crack cocaine in 1990, a nine-month suspended sentence on charges of possessing marijuana and PCP. He’ll remain free from jail if he stays out of trouble.
The 31-year son was arrested in May after police were called to his Washington home by neighbors who heard screaming and things breaking. Barry jumped out a third story window when officers arrived, though he later returned and acknowledged that he was high on PCP when he began breaking things. Officers found a vial containing PCP and five sandwich bags of marijuana in the apartment.
Barry, who pleaded guilty in July, told the judge he had been “self-medicating” with drugs and that he was not a drug dealer. The judge noted that Barry’s drug problem began with the death of his mother, Effi Barry, in 2007.
During his third term as mayor, Marion Barry was videotaped smoking crack cocaine in a hotel room in an FBI sting operation. He served six months in federal prison. Following his prison sentence he was elected to a fourth term as mayor in 1994 and now serves on the D.C. Council. Officers found a vial containing PCP and five sandwich bags of marijuana in the apartment.
Barry, who attended his son’s sentencing, declined to comment following the hearing as did his son, Barry’s only child.
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