What happened to Delvin Barnes?

From homecoming king in 1993 (left) to an accused man of heinous crimes, questions surround Delvin Barnes and alleged actions against a 16-year old juvenile and 22-year old Carlesha Freeland-Gaither of Philadelphia.

While a student at Charles City High School, Delvin Barnes made school history in the fall of 1993. He became the school’s first ever Mr. CCHS, the equivalent to homecoming king.

Barnes, on the honor roll and said to be making straight A’s, told a student reporter for the “Panther Page,” a regular feature for the school appearing in the Chickahominy Journal newspaper, that he “felt shocked and elated” but also proud to be chosen for the honor. He was crowned during halftime of Charles City’s homecoming football game against New Kent High.

“I am glad to be the first Mr. CCHS,” he was quoted as saying in the reporter’s story published in the Journal’s Nov. 9, 1993 edition.

“Now that I am in the public eye and the eyes of my peers, I want to set a good example for the underclassmen,” he said, adding that he aspired to own a car dealership upon completing his education.

But in the years since high school, Barnes apparently abandoned any quest for setting a good example, embarking instead on a much different path — one that frequently would have him running afoul of the law. The latest missteps occurred over recent weeks involving high profile, alleged violent abductions in Charles City and Philadelphia. Ironically, a GPS tracking device installed in his vehicle by a car dealership would help lead to his capture.

Some relatives and friends have told media this is not the Delvin Barnes they know. Then there are those who say Barnes possesses a hidden dark side.

Winning the Mr. CCHS title in a vote taken by the entire student body would not appear out of place for a student of Barnes’ academic stature. Several of his classmates, however, have told the Chronicle that shortly after his transfer from the Philadelphia school system around 1990, Barnes became a bullying target, due in part to a speech impediment.

The classmates said Barnes at times seemed to be quiet and shy but often craved attention, something that drove him to run for the title. Barnes considered his bid to be a joke, they said. Behind the scenes, meanwhile, other students were conducting a campaign to ensure that he won, they added.

The extent to which high school bullying influenced Barnes’ adult life is uncertain. He has since incurred several criminal convictions in Richmond and served prison time in Pennsylvania.

Then on Nov. 2, he allegedly kidnapped 22-year-old Carlesha Freeland-Gaither off a Philadelphia street. Video surveillance footage of the act drew national attention.

But police work that centered on Barnes’ car, the GPS device on board, and the suspect’s use of the victim’s credit card tracked him to parking lot in Jessup, Md., a suburb just south of Baltimore. Authorities took Barnes by surprise and found Freeland-Gaither, relatively unharmed, inside the car.

In Charles City where he had no previous criminal record, Barnes faces charges of attempted murder, abduction, malicious wounding, malicious wounding with a chemical, inanimate object sexual penetration, and forcible rape. He allegedly kidnapped a 16-year-old Richmond girl on Oct. 1, struck her in the head with a shovel, and took her to his home in Charles City. There he allegedly raped her, doused her with bleach and gasoline, and threatened to kill her. Authorities say when he turned his attention to digging a grave outside for the girl, she escaped and ran through woods eventually seeking help at a business a few miles away.

Barnes has been held in Riverside Regional Jail in Prince George County since last Thursday night when Charles City sheriff’s personnel returned him to the county after he waived extradition in Maryland. Today (Tuesday), however, Barnes is bound for Philadelphia in the custody of U.S. marshals for arraignment on federal charges.

The suspect had been scheduled to appear Wednesday for arraignment in Charles City General District Court on the local charges, with indictments heading to a circuit court grand jury as early as Nov. 18. The federal action, however, trumped the state courts.

Charles City commonwealth’s attorney Rob Tyler said a video arraignment on the Charles City charges could take place Wednesday in conjunction with the federal proceedings in Philadelphia. Tyler said he does not expect the local charges to go before a Charles City grand jury until sometime next year.

Editor Andre’ Jones contributed to this story.