Hunt continues for sucker punch defendant

Barry Baker Jr. is wanted for assaulting a man who has cerebral palsy

WEST CHESTER >> The hunt for the former East Fallowfield man accused of throwing a sucker punch at a disabled man outside West Chester convenience store continued over the Memorial Day weekend, without the man being taken into custody either in Chester County or out of state, according to officials Tuesday.

Barry Robert Baker Jr. had originally been scheduled to appear for a preliminary hearing on the assault charges from the West Chester incident Tuesday. But that hearing had been continued early last week by

Magisterial District Judge Mark Bruno, after Baker’s defense attorney, Francis C. Miller of West Chester, said that he had a scheduling conflict and would not be able to attend the hearing.

Miller declined comment on the matter Tuesday.

Baker, 29, who now lives in Georgetown, Sussex County, Delaware, had been free on 10 percent of

$25,000 bail since his arrest in the assault case, which drew national attention and condemnation after a video was posted showing him punching a young man who has cerebral palsy in the face after mocking the way he carried himself.

But two separate bench warrants have been issued for his arrest in the days since, one for a violation of his probation on theft charges, and a second for failure to pay back child support. The warrants were issued last week, and authorities publicized their attempts to take him into custody.

“The manhunt for the defendant has become more intense,” said Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan. “The local police across Chester County, police in Delaware, the Chester County Fugitive Unit, and the United States Marshal’s Service are now actively looking for him. The defendant knows that we are looking for him. His best option is to turn himself in peacefully as soon as possible. Otherwise, it is only a matter of time before we track him down.”

On Tuesday, Chester County Sheriff Carolyn “Bunny” Welsh and her chief of staff, Jason Suydam, discussed the ways that the sheriff’s Fugitive Apprehension Unit was looking for Baker, avoiding specifics that might jeopardize the investigation. In

addition to actively searching for him at current and past addresses, in Delaware, Coatesville, Downingtown and West Chester, the unit shares information on those who are on the wanted list with other agencies, including federal, state and local law enforcement, as well as internet-based data services such as NCIC and J-Net.

There is also an independent tip line that callers can access, they said.

Baker was added to the unit’s priority list last week, and reports began pouring in through the tip line and on social media. In addition, the wanted poster that was issued for Baker appeared on electronic billboard’s in the West Chester area, said Welsh and Suydam.

“We are actively working with the U.S. Marshall’s Office, and we have gotten a number of significant leads that we are working on now,” said Suydam. “Everyone is working collectively to search him out.”

On Thursday, a bench warrant was issued by Common Pleas Court Judge David Bortner for Baker 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 who has cerebral palsy.

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

On May 22, a warrant was issued by the county’s Adult Probation Department, as Baker’s arrest by West Chester police on the assault case represented a violation of the terms of his probation for a 2009 conviction for theft from a motor vehicle. Baker’s attorney has reportedly been trying to negotiate a surrender on the violation.

In that case, two cars in East Fallowfield had been broken into in September

2008. Baker, a convicted criminal with a long history, was interviewed in December of that year and admitted the theft. He recalled the case, he said, because he stole a number of harmonicas, as well as electronic equipment such as a GPS and iPod, as well as a digital camera and other items, from one of the cars.

He pleaded guilty to charges of theft from a motor vehicle, and was sentenced to three years probation by Judge James P. MacElree II.

In the current assault case, in which he is charged with misdemeanor simple assault, and summary harassment and disorderly conduct, according to police, Baker and others were at a 7-11 convenience store located in the 200 block of South High Street around 2:30 a.m. on May 10 when a 22-year-old man who has cerebral palsy drove into the parking lot and parked his vehicle in the lot near the front of the store.

The victim, whose name was not released, got out of his vehicle and entered the store. 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 he 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. He was later identified as Baker.

Anybody with information about the incident is urged to contact the West Chester Police Department at 610-696-2600. The sheriff’s anonymous tip line is 610-344-4333.

Barry Baker Jr.