Sucker-punch suspect in custody

Barry Baker Jr., accused of assaulting a disabled man, was captured by authorities at a Uwchlan hotel

WEST CHESTER » The defendant accused of throwing a sucker punch at a disabled man outside a West Chester convenience store, which was captured on video, and then fleeing after the case made headlines across the country, made a brief appearance in Common Pleas Court Monday, about six hours after his capture at a Uwchlan hotel.

“I came back last night,” Barry Robert Baker Jr. told Senior Judge Ronald Nagle during bail hearing at the Chester County Justice Center. “I wanted to turn myself in today.”

But Baker, wearing the dark blue sweat shirt and sweat pants that police found him in at the Clarion Hotel in Exton, had no explanation as to why he had not registered under his own name at the hotel where he was found. Instead, he used the name of a friend, had his girlfriend pay in cash, and had a number of untraceable “burner” phones in the room with him, said the prosecutor in the case.

He also had shaved the full beard he is shown wearing in the booking photos that have been circulated by authorities in connection with the two bench warrants against him, and now sports only a goatee.

“Mr. Baker has been actively avoiding his apprehension,” Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Morgan told Nagle in explanation for why she had asked that his bail on the simple assault charge be increased to $500,000 cash. She said Baker had been given “numerous opportunities” through an attorney to surrender, but that he “declined.”

“It is very clear that he was evading prosecution,” said Morgan.

Nagle set bail at $100,000 cash.

As he was led from the courtroom, Baker was asked repeatedly by a reporter whether he wanted to say anything about his case, or whether he wanted to apologize to the man he punched in the face after mocking the way his cerebral palsy made him walk. He said nothing, and looked down at the floor as deputy sheriffs led him away in handcuffs and shackles.

Baker was taken into custody by members of the Chester County Sheriff’s Office, as well as the U.S. Marshall’s Service, around 7:30 a.m. Monday.

Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh said that her office’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit had received multiple tips about where he was over the weekend. At least six members of the two fugitive units, as well as a K-9 unit from her office, converged on the Uwchlan area beginning at about 5:30 a.m. Monday to look for him, ultimately finding him in a room at the Clarion, on North Pottstown Pike near Route 113.

“We got him,” Welsh said jubilantly in a brief interview in her office about an hour after Baker’s apprehension. “It was a concerted effort by multiple agencies. It was a team effort.” She said he was arrested without incident. “There was no indication that he was resisting.”

Spotting one of the deputies assigned to the fugitive unit, Welsh exclaimed, “My hero!”

Baker, 29, who now lives in Georgetown, Sussex County, Delaware, had been free on 10 percent of $25,000 bail since his arrest last month in the assault case, which drew national attention and condemnation after a video was posted showing him punching the man who is affected by cerebral palsy in the face as he walked out

“It is very clear that he was evading prosecution.”

— Chester County Assistant District Attorney Cynthia Morgan

of the 7-Eleven convenience store on South High Street in West Chester.

The bench warrants were issued in the days afterwards, one for a violation of his probation on theft charges, and a second for failure to pay back child support. A $5,000 reward for information leading to his arrest was also offered, but it is unknown whether that is part of the operation that sheriff’s deputies participated in Monday.

In a statement, District Attorney Tom Hogan called the effort to bring Baker into custody, “a relentless manhunt by the United States Marshals Service, the Chester County Sheriff’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit, and all of Chester County law enforcement. Every cop on the street told me that they were looking for this defendant.

“In addition, the public did an outstanding job through social media of getting the word out that the defendant was wanted,” he said. “Nobody was going to quit until the defendant was in prison, where he belongs.”

Hogan said that on Sunday, officials received “hard intelligence” on Baker’s location, including that other people were assisting him in his flight. Using a combination of technology and information from key individuals, they traced Baker’s movements through multiple locations during the night and into the early morning hours, when they found him.

Welsh acknowledged the extraordinary nature of the hunt for Baker, who had no significant history of violent crime and whose alleged offense was essentially a onepunch incident. She noted the special circumstances behind his case, however.

“In this particular case, there was such a public outrage for what he did that it really took some priority,” she said. Photos of Baker and information about his case and where the public could contact authorities was posted on social media, as well as on a number of electronic billboards along highways across the region.

That sensational aspect to the case was not lost on Baker’s new attorney, Assistant Public Defender Sarah Black, who at the bail hearing asked Nagle to set a lower amount than what Morgan was asking for and what had been set in a hearing on Friday before Judge Allison Bell Royer. She called the $500,000 figure “grossly excessive” for a simple assault charge.

“I believe that the intention of Mr. Baker has ultimately been to turn himself in,” Black said.

But Morgan said that a significant amount was needed to insure that Baker appears for future court hearings. She noted that he had failed to check in with the county’s bail agency since his arraignment on May 22, and repeated that despite several arrangements made to turn himself in, Baker continued his flight.

In his statement, Baker said that he had never had any intention of fleeing from authorities, and noted that he had appeared for his arraignment after learning he was going to be arrested. A preliminary hearing in the case is not scheduled until July. But he said his former attorney, Francis C. Miller of West Chester, had told him not to report to authorities.

“Nobody was fleeing,” Baker said. “(Miller) told me to stay put. He told me, ‘Don’t do (anything) until I tell you to (do something.)’“

Miller, contacted at his office on Monday, denied telling Baker to stay away. “Nothing could be further from the truth, and I have communications to prove otherwise.” He said he ended his representation of Baker on Monday.

Barry Baker Jr.