Floyd Prison inmate killed in Bartow incident

A Bartow County man that was serving time at the Floyd County Prison while waiting to be placed into a work-release program was killed in a tragic incident in Cartersville last week.

According to Warden Mike Long:

Lester Robert Baker, 43, of Cartersville, had volunteered for a sanitation detail in Cartersville last Wednesday, Dec. 26, 2018, to help with the large amount of waste put out the day after Christmas.

The incident occurred near the intersection of Church Street and Jones Street in Cartersville. The Georgia State Patrol was asked to take the lead in the investigation into the incident that occurred sometime shortly after lunch.

Baker was found on the ground between the sanitation truck and a utility pole, however no additional details were available last week before press time.

Warden Long said the GSP Collision Reconstruction Team was conducting the investigation to figure out exactly what happened.

“He was a really good inmate,” Long said. “He was always willing to work and never gave us any problems.”

The warden said that Baker had been transferred from another institution to the prison on Black’s Bluff Road where he was being transitioned into a work-release program that helps prepare inmates for re-integration into society.

“He hadn’t gotten there yet, but he would have been excellent at it,” Long said.