Ripley Man’s Long History of Crime Resurfaces in Carpenter Murder Case

Man with long criminal history facing the potential of life in prison to be witness for prosecution in Kirby Carpenter murder trial of Jeff Spence.

RIPLEY, Miss. – The name David Wayne Barnes has surfaced repeatedly in Tippah County courtrooms over the past decade+, tied to a string of burglaries, arson, and theft. Now, his involvement as a witness in the high-profile murder trial of businessman Kirby Carpenter has again placed him at the center of a major criminal case. Barnes is a former employee of Carpenter’s with a lengthy criminal history.

Early Arrests: Church Burglary and Pawn Shop Arson (2012)

In April 2012, Barnes, then 36, was arrested after investigators linked him to multiple crimes in Tippah County. Authorities said he broke into Falkner Baptist Church, stealing cash and other items before attempting to set the sanctuary’s carpet on fire. The blaze fizzled before it spread.

When deputies arrested him, they discovered items traced back to Cotton’s Pawn Shop—a business that had been burglarized and burned to the ground earlier that year. Investigators determined that Barnes had stolen from the shop and then torched the building to cover his tracks.

He was charged with burglary of a church, attempted arson, felon in possession of a weapon (brass knuckles), possession of burglary tools, burglary of a commercial business, and arson. He was jailed under a $60,000 bond.

Repeat Offenses: Commercial Burglaries (2019)

Seven years later, in December 2019, Barnes—then 44—was arrested again after police said he stole tools, a desktop computer, video games, and swords from a Ripley business located on MS 4 West.

He was charged with two counts of commercial burglary and faced a probation violation. Once again, Barnes was booked into Tippah County Jail, this time on a $30,000 bond along with a Mississippi Department of Corrections hold.

A Break in the Carpenter Murder Case (2023)

Barnes’s name reemerged in 2023 in connection with the investigation into the murder of local businessman Kirby Carpenter. Carpenter was found dead in November 2022 outside his Booneville-area home, and the case has drawn widespread attention with Carpenter’s partner, Caitlin Spence and her mother, Karen Spence, having taken plea deals, and Jeff Spence now on trial.

One year after the killing, Barnes was again arrested—this time for burglary on November 2, 2023. But during questioning, Barnes unexpectedly provided investigators with a critical lead. According to police reports, he broke down crying and told them that Caitlin Spence had confided in him, saying “things got out of hand and Jeff Spence killed Kirby.”