Trending
WARREN -- A Warren man convicted in September of the kidnapping and felonious assault of a 70-year-old woman he met at a grocery store had his conviction and sentence upheld by the 11th District Court of Appeals.
John Baker, 65, was convicted on the charges by a jury after a three-day trial before Trumbull County Common Pleas Court Judge Sarah Kovoor, who later sentenced him to 19-to-24.5 years in prison. He was acquitted on a rape charge.
In his appeal, Baker raised two assignments of error, accusing the state of failing to present sufficient evidence at trial to support his convictions, and that the trial judge at sentencing improperly considered his silence in violation of his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
Upon review, 11th District Judges Robert J. Patton, Matt Lynch and John J. Eklund ruled that the convictions for felonious assault and kidnapping were supported by legally sufficient evidence and ruled that the second assignment of error was without merit.
According to the state's brief on appeal written by Trumbull County Assistant Prosecutor Charles Morrow, Baker appeared at the victim's home in Champion unannounced a week after their meeting. The victim spurned Baker's attempts to kiss her. Later, as she changed her clothing, preparing to go to bed, Baker unexpectedly entered the bedroom.
"He grabbed her by the arms and threw her on the bed… while restraining her, he pulled off her leggings and she felt pain 'right between her crotch'," Morrow wrote.
When the victim asked to be released under the pretense of having to use the restroom, she retrieved her phone from the living room, fled to the bathroom and locked the door. Baker pursued her, began pounding on the door and stabbing it (with a knife) numerous times, including three stabs that penetrated through the door, while screaming "I'm gonna kill you," court documents stated.
When police arrived, Baker was found inside, completely nude, and two knives were recovered, including one in the bedroom.
Baker will continue to serve his prison sentence at Noble Correctional Institution.
TRIAL TESTIMONY
At Baker's early September trial, Dr. Megan Thomas, an emergency medicine physician at St. Joseph Warren Hospital since 2014, testified she examined the victim the day of the attack. She found a small tear in the victim's vaginal wall with fresh blood, along with fresh bruises on her thigh and knee and an abrasion on her wrist. Thomas testified that the vaginal tear was caused by trauma, not aging, and was consistent with the victim's report of an assault.
Lindsey Nelson Roush, a forensic scientist with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation since 2008, tested evidence from the case. She testified that she found no DNA from Baker in the victim's sexual assault kit, including cervical and perianal swabs.
However, a swab from the exterior crotch of the victim's underwear showed a DNA mixture from two people -- one matching the victim and the other matching Baker. Assistant Prosecutor Chris Becker argued that the victim's testimony, medical records and DNA evidence proved Baker's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. He pointed to a knife with a bent blade and white paint found on the victim's bed, matching damage to her bathroom door, which had been stabbed multiple times.
Becker noted that police body camera footage showed Baker was intoxicated and gave conflicting statements, claiming both a "sex-a-thon" and impotence.
Defense attorney Kristin Maxwell argued at trial that the victim's testimony was unreliable due to memory issues, citing an incident the day before where the victim got lost in another county. Maxwell said the victim let Baker stay in her home for eight hours, gave him food and socks and changed into a nightshirt, suggesting she was comfortable.
The trial included testimony from police officers, the victim's family, and 28 exhibits, including body camera videos, 911 calls and photos of the knife and damaged door.