Flomaton bootlegger busted
Published 6:36 pm Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Flomaton’s Joshua Barnes was arrested for operating this illegal still at his residence.|Submitted Photo
A Flomaton man was arrested Friday after Flomaton Police Chief Geoff McGraw said he found a fully operational whiskey still at the man’s home off Upper Creek Road — the first such case in Escambia County in more than 40 years.
Joshua Grady Barnes, 33, was charged with possession of untaxed alcohol and other charges pertaining to the operating still.
“I initiated a traffic stop on the subject after I saw him cut off a vehicle on Hwy. 31 and nearly causing the other vehicle to wreck,” McGraw said. “The stop was made in the Hardee’s parking lot where I noticed two jugs in the back of his vehicle.”
McGraw said he questioned Barnes, who admitted the jugs contained moonshine.
“He said the jugs contained moonshine and I could smell that it was moonshine,” McGraw said. “He did admit that he had a moonshine still at his home.”
McGraw said the discovery of the still is the first such case in Escambia County in decades.
“This is the first still that’s been found in the county in over 40 years,” he said.
McGraw said officials from the Alabama Beverage Control Board were alerted to the situation and responded to the call.
“The ABC Board came to the scene,” McGraw said. “They dismantled the still and took it away from the home.”
McGraw said the suspect is believed to have sold the moonshine in 20-ounce bottles at an estimated cost of $10 to $15 each.
Barnes was transported to the Escambia County Detention Center where he was booked on the charges against him.