Officers of the Perry Police Department apprehended a fugitive from justice Monday who was on the lam since April from the Fort Des Moines Community Corrections Complex in Des Moines.
Anthony Adrian Christopher Baker, 22, of 208 S. Attica Road, Knoxville, was arrested on a charge of fifth-degree theft, on a Polk County warrant for escape from Fort Des Moines on original charges of third-degree burglary and fourth-degree criminal mischief and on a Marion County warrant for probation violation on an original charge of third-degree burglary.
The incident began about 10:30 a.m. on eastbound Iowa Highway 141 near First Avenue in Perry, where an officer of the Perry Police Department initiated a traffic stop. Radio traffic indicated that Baker, a passenger in the vehicle, attempted to hide from law enforcement, but he was taken into custody without incident by officers of the Perry Police Department.
Baker entered Fort Des Moines in March 2019 after he was convicted of third-degree burglary in connection with a November 2018 incident in which he stole more than $8,000 in property from his grandparents.
Baker escaped from Fort Des Moines in September 2019 and was later apprehended on a Marion County warrant for violation of probation. His deferred judgement was revoked, and he was returned to Fort Des Moines in February 2020. The court found he again violated the terms of his probation when he tested positive for methamphetamine on April 4, stole a second and third plate of food on April 9, was caught smoking synthetic marijuana on April 13 and again escaped from Fort Des Moines April 14.
Baker is held in the Polk County Jail in advance of a hearing in Polk County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
