‘Nobody is bribing’ Bevin. Pardoned murderer claims innocence, thanks ex-governor.
Patrick Baker has long maintained that he is innocent of pretending to be a police officer to break into Donald Mills home and rob him of drugs and money while his wife and three children were there, then murdering Mills during a scuffle in Knox County in 2014.
So it was no surprise when Baker and his team of attorneys spoke out Tuesday in defense of former Gov. Matt Bevin’s decision to pardon Baker and commute his sentence.
“I am innocent,” Baker said during a news conference in Lexington. “I want to thank Mr. Bevin for his courageous actions. It’s been a long journey, it’s been tough.”
Baker’s pardon, which is one of hundreds of pardons and commutations issued by Bevin in his final days in office, has come under fire from prosecutors and lawmakers from both political parties because his brother and sister-in-law held a fundraiser in July 2018 that raised $21,500 for Bevin, according to the Kentucky Registry for Election Finance. The couple donated $4,000 to Bevin.
Senate Republicans have called for the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate Bevin and two Democrats have called for Attorney General Daniel Cameron to appoint a special prosecutor.
Elliot Slosar, Baker’s attorney, said Baker’s pardon had nothing to do with the fundraiser and that nothing about the family’s support of Bevin, who they voted for in 2015, was improper.
“Nobody is bribing a multi-millionaire governor with a $4,000 donation,” Slosar said.
Bevin also has denied the fundraiser had anything to do with the pardon, calling those accusations “highly offensive and entirely false.”
Slosar made several arguments about Baker’s innocence. Slosar said plastic handcuffs found at the site did not contain DNA evidence from Baker, but did contain someone else’s DNA. He did not name the person who’s DNA was found.
“There is an alternate suspect out there who we believe killed Donald Mills,” Slosar said.
Slosar also talked about eyewitnesses who gave a description of a killer who didn’t match Baker and the fact that two of the Kentucky State Police detectives on the case are the subject of two lawsuits accusing them of coercing witnesses, fabricating statements and destroying evidence in other cases.
“We think what Mr. Bevin did here is justice at its best,” Slosar said. “The only option he (Baker) had left was turning to a governor with courage.”
Jackie Steele, the commonwealth’s attorney in Laurel and Knox Counties, dismissed the claims, saying the jury was aware of discrepancies in eyewitness testimony.
“The jury had this information, heard this testimony,” Steele said.
Regarding the police officers’ alleged conduct in other cases, Steele said “nothing has been substantiated.”
Throughout the news conference, Slosar expressed outrage that the two troopers, Jason York and Bryan Johnson, are still on the police force. His law firm has launched two lawsuits against the officers, and on Tuesday Slosar called on Attorney General Daniel Cameron to launch an investigation of York and Johnson.
Ann Mary Quarandillo, a spokeswoman for the law firm defending York, said the officers deny the allegations against them.
“While we represent Sergeant York, both officers deny any misconduct,” Quarandillo said. “The proper place to discuss the facts and litigate the issues of these cases is in the courtroom, not in the media. Further comments on pending litigation will be made in court as the legal process unfolds.”
Slosar said Denny Butler, a former Louisville Metro Police Department detective and state representative who was working in Bevin’s Justice and Public Safety Cabinet, was investigating the two troopers prior to Bevin issuing the pardon. Slosar said Butler conducted an investigation into Baker’s case on Bevin’s behalf.
Steele, though, said the jury was presented with overwhelming evidence of Baker’s guilt. Baker’s co-defendent, Christopher Wagner, testified that he and Baker went to a dollar store to buy badges and plastic handcuffs, that Baker’s pickup truck was identified and that Wagner’s gun was never used.
“The co-defendent, Christopher Wagner, gave more than compelling evidence,” Steele said. “You have the individuals right there with him, saying that’s what he did.”
Slosar did not hesitate when asked if he thought Wagner was lying when he claimed Baker killed Mills.
“Absolutely,” Slosar said.
Baker was one of three people who went to jail for the robbery. Wagner pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 10 years and Elijah Messer went to trial and was sentenced to 50 years. Both Wagner and Messer are still in prison. A fourth co-defendent, Angela Mills, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 2 years probation.
Slosar said none of Baker’s co defendants filed requests for pardons.
Baker and his attorneys appealed the ruling to the Kentucky Court of Appeals, contesting a ruling the judge made regarding evidence. They argued he was “deprived of a fair trial because the prosecutor engaged in improper speculation during the closing argument” after the KSP’s attempt at a forensic examination of Baker’s phone resulted in the loss of all data on the phone.
The prosecutor made reference to the phone’s data in his closing argument, saying that based on what was known “from the iPad, from the photostreaming” it would have been beneficial to the prosecution, not the defense.
The Court of Appeals ruled against Baker, saying they could not “conclude the prosecutor’s isolated statements here mislead the jury or unduly prejudiced Baker.”
“While the statements were arguably intentionally placed before the jury, there can be no doubt, on review of the proof as a whole, evidence of Baker’s guilt was overwhelming,” wrote then Court of Appeals Judge Shea Nickell.
Prosecutors throughout Kentucky continue to express outrage at Bevin’s decision to pardon or commute the sentences of dozens of people convicted of murder, rape and other heinous crimes without seeking their input or speaking with the families of victims. In a joint statement issued Monday, the Kentucky Commonwealth’s Attorneys’ Association and the Kentucky County Attorneys’ Association called Bevin’s pardons an “insult to crime victims, their familes and the rule of law” and said Bevin “should be ashamed.”
“His arbitrary, callous, and, in at least one case, seemingly corrupt decision to pardon many violent felons on his way out of office was an abuse of his power,” the statement said. “He substituted his questionable judgment over the collective wisdom of juries who heard the evidence, law enforcement officers who investigated the cases and prosecutors who sought justice for victims. The victims in these cases were ignored and silenced — victimized again by Matt Bevin. He owes them an apology, and his abuse of power should be investigated.”
This story was originally published December 17, 2019 at 3:46 PM.
