An Oakland County man with alleged ties to Pontiac is facing major drug-trafficking charges after a months-long investigation led authorities to stop and arrest him during a Sunday traffic stop in Evansville, Indiana.
According to reporting from WEHT, investigators began tracking Keonta Barton in July after receiving information that he was allegedly transporting cocaine from Michigan to southern Indiana. A confidential source reportedly claimed Barton made regular trips to the Evansville area supplying multiple customers with ounce-level quantities of cocaine and maintaining an active buyer network.
Authorities say surveillance was carried out between September and November 2025 through both physical and electronic monitoring. Detectives reportedly observed Barton travel between Michigan and Evansville repeatedly, staying for short stretches then returning north. During these trips, officials claim Barton was seen meeting with known distributors and collecting payment believed to be tied to narcotics sales.
On November 30 investigators say Barton drove back into Evansville. Around 5:45 p.m. he was reportedly seen entering an apartment complex and later switching vehicles, a technique law enforcement believes is used to minimize detection.
After he allegedly failed to stop at a stop sign, officers conducted a traffic stop near the Lloyd Expressway. Police say Barton refused consent to search. A K-9 unit was deployed for an exterior sniff, it alerted, and officers searched the vehicle.
Inside the trunk, investigators reportedly recovered approximately:
- 250 grams of cocaine
- 440 grams of marijuana
Field tests later confirmed the substances to be cocaine and THC. Barton was taken into custody and booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail on charges of dealing cocaine and dealing marijuana.
Records cited by WEHT show Barton was previously tied to a DEA investigation in 2006 where he was allegedly stopped enroute to Evansville from Memphis with five kilos of cocaine and later sentenced to 78 months in federal prison. He also reportedly pled guilty in Michigan in 1999 for distributing between 50 and 225 grams of cocaine.
Investigators list Barton as being from Michigan with connections to the Pontiac area of Oakland County, placing him at the northern end of a trafficking pipeline officials believe stretched more than 400 miles into Indiana. Authorities also say Barton may have been sourcing cocaine from individuals based in Memphis before transporting it through Detroit and into the southern corridor.
Barton remains held without bond. Further federal involvement is possible given the interstate nature of the case and his documented criminal history.
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