Sheriff: Friends may be aiding suspect in killing

Johnson County’s sheriff believes that a suspect in a recent killing is getting some help from his friends.

Police have been searching for Robert Wayne Baker of Johnson County since Christopher Farmer was killed around 7 p.m. Friday.

It was a “verbal altercation that escalated into the loss of life,” said Sheriff Jimmy Stephens. The sheriff wouldn’t elaborate on the homicide, saying the case is under investigation and a suspect is at large.

“Baker is considered to be armed and dangerous!” the sheriff’s office said in a post on its Facebook page. “Do not attempt to approach this subject. … If you see this subject, call 911 immediately.”

The post was followed by hundreds of comments, some by people who claimed to know the whereabouts of Baker or to be in contact with him.

“The sheriff and I met this morning,” one of them wrote Monday, “and I gave my word I would get Robbie to turn his self in.”

But Baker hadn’t done that as of Tuesday afternoon.

Stephens said six people had been taken into the sheriff’s office for questioning.

“We think without question that he’s getting help,” Stephens said. “That’s how he has eluded us so far. There is some aiding and abetting going on.”

Stephens said he believes that Baker is still in Johnson County.

“As of now we’ve been focusing our efforts on locating him,” said the sheriff, though others could be charged with helping Baker.

Stephens said the Arkansas State Police and U.S. Marshals Service are assisting with the investigation.

He said three vehicles have been confiscated. Baker had been in each of the vehicles after the homicide, Stephens said. Baker owns two of the vehicles and had borrowed the third one.

Stephens said Baker abandoned one of the vehicles and left on foot in the Mills Road area of Johnson County. Police dogs were used to search for Baker in that vicinity, but he wasn’t located.

Baker was convicted in 2015 of breaking and entering, theft of property, defacing a firearm and drug charges, according to a filing in Johnson County Circuit Court. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was paroled on June 6 after serving 34 months, according to court documents.