LA PLATA, MD— Tony Covington, State’s Attorney for Charles County, announced that on Friday, March 20, 2026, a Charles County jury, after a 5-day trial, found Amar Julio Barrera, 44, guilty of Home Invasion, Kidnapping, and related charges.

On September 25, 2025, officers with Charles County Sheriff’s Office responded to the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center for a reported assault. Upon arrival, officers made contact with the victim in the emergency room lobby. The victim had visible facial injuries and reported that he had been assaulted and kidnapped at his residence on September 23, 2025.

An investigation revealed that during the evening hours of September 23, 2025, the victim was inside his residence when Barrera and three other co-defendants – one of whom was a relative of the victim – entered the house. The victim was physically assaulted by two of the male co-defendants and attempted to defend himself. During the assault, Barrera tased the victim leaving him incapacitated. The co-defendants then dragged the victim from the home, bound his wrists and ankles, and placed him in the back seat of a white Ford F-150 driven by Barrera.

The victim was transported to his relative’s house in Clinton, where he was restrained and beaten by the two male co-defendants. Barrera and the two males threatened to kill the victim and his family if he attempted to leave. On September 25, 2025, the victim was picked up by another relative and brought back to Charles County. The victim’s mother then took him to the hospital for treatment of his injuries.

Text message exchanges showed that Barrera planned the home invasion and kidnapping. He coordinated the attack with the victim’s relative, who was also his girlfriend, and his two other co-defendants, believing the victim had taken his property.

A sentencing date for Barrera has been set for May 21, 2026, at 1 p.m. He faces 85 years in prison.

 Guilty

• Home Invasion

• Kidnapping

• Conspiracy to Commit Home Invasion

• Conspiracy to Commit Kidnapping

• Conspiracy to Commit First-Degree Assault