Sucker-punch suspect now a wanted man

Warrant issued after he fails to show for child support hearing

Legal problems continue to mount for the former East Fallowfield man accused of throwing a sucker punch at a physically challenged man outside a West Chester convenience store, an incident that was captured on videotape and drew national attention.

On Thursday, a bench warrant was issued by Common Pleas Court Judge David Bortner for Barry Robert Baker Jr. because he failed to appear for a hearing concerning back child support he owes to the mother of his son.

A petition for contempt had been filed against Baker by the Chester County Domestic Relations Office prior to his arrest earlier this month on simple assault charges for the unprovoked attack on a man suffering from cerebral palsy.

According to court records, Baker owes $2,956 to the child’s mother, a Downingtown area woman. The last payment he made on his child support account was March 31 for $240.

Bortner called the case against Baker as one of the first on his list of contempt petitions filed by

Domestic Relations, and no one answered. He then approved the bench warrant, meaning that Baker, 29, of Delaware, can be taken into custody by any law enforcement officer who comes in contact with him.

Had Baker appeared before Bortner on Thursday, he likely would have been taken into custody on the bench warrant that was issued Monday by the county’s Adult Probation Department. Baker’s arrest by West Chester police on the assault case represented a violation of the terms of his probation for a past conviction for theft from a motor vehicle in 2009. Baker’s attorney has reportedly been trying to negotiate a surrender on the violation.

Baker, 29, is free on bail in the assault case, which drew national headlines for its shocking brutality. “The defendant’s actions in this case are appalling,” said West Chester Police Chief Scott Bohn Monday after announcing Baker’s arrest. “You wonder what would make an individual treat

somebody like that.”

Although his address was reported as being in East Fallowfield in the criminal complaint filed last week in the assault case, West Chester police later updated that information to show that Baker now lives in Delaware. Reportedly, people upset with the arrest had posted an aerial map of his former residence on the Internet, and the current resident was flooded with angry taunts from passing cars.

According to police, Baker and others were at the 7-Eleven convenience store in the 200 block of South High Street around 2:30 a.m. May 10 when a 22-year-old man with cerebral palsy drove into the parking lot. The man parked his vehicle in the lot near the front of the store. The victim, whose name was not released, then got out of his vehicle and entered the store. As seen on a surveillance video, Baker started making fun of the victim, mocking how the victim walked, police said. When the victim came back out of the store, the defendant again mocked the victim, imitating how the victim moved. As the victim

was standing in front of his vehicle, the defendant punched the victim directly in the face, without any warning. Baker then fled around the corner of the store.

A patrolman, Officer Matthew Simcox, stopped a man fitting the description of the assault suspect a short while later in the neighborhood. As Simcox began asking the man if he knew anything about the assault, the man fled the scene on foot.

Baker has been charged with simple assault and related crimes. Bail was set at 10 percent of $25,000 by Magisterial District Judge Mark Bruno, which Baker posted. His preliminary hearing on the assault charge is scheduled for May 30.

This case was investigated by the West Chester Police Department. Assistant District Attorney Cindy Morgan is the assigned prosecutor. Anybody with information about the incident is urged to contact the West Chester Police Department at 610-696-2600.

Barry Baker