Federal conviction of man pardoned by Bevin upheld by appellate court

Mar. 23—A man pardoned by then-Governor Matt Bevin three years ago on state charges for a 2014 drug robbery killing in Knox County has lost an appeal to overturn a second conviction in federal court for the same crime.

A U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals panel released its ruling Thursday against 44-year-old Patrick Baker of London, whom federal prosecutors brought charges against after he was released from prison in December 2019 — one of many pardons and commutations Gov. Bevin issued on his way out of office.

Baker's pardon created controversy due to his family's political connections to Bevin, including hosting a fundraiser for the one-term governor.

A federal jury in eastern Kentucky convicted Baker on a charge of murder committed during a drug trafficking crime and he was sentenced in January 2022 to 42 years in prison.

Baker had been released from prison for nearly 18 months when on May 27, 2021, a federal grand jury indicted him for unlawfully causing the death of Donald Mills by use of a firearm during the course of a robbery or kidnapping.

A 10-day trial was held that August which included testimony that on May 9, 2014, Baker, along with an accomplice, kicked in the front door of Mills' Stinking Creek home, posing as law enforcement officers. The accomplice rounded up Mills' pregnant wife, his two sons and their friend and held them at gunpoint in one section of the home, while Baker held Mills in another section of the home demanding drugs. An altercation occurred and Mills was fatally shot.

Baker was first convicted of reckless homicide in Mills' death in Knox County Circuit Court in 2017 and sentenced to 19 years in prison, but Bevin's pardon erased the conviction. Bevin called the evidence against Baker "sketchy," though he did not mention his ties to Baker's family.

Federal prosecutors said Baker was prosecuted the second time under the "dual sovereignty doctrine," which allows state and federal officials to prosecute the same defendant for the same actions without infringing on double jeopardy protections.

While Baker's attorneys argued that the federal government's decision to prosecute him was vindictive, the appeals panel cited the separate sovereign doctrine and said that federal prosecutors have broad discretion in decisions to charge people. They also pointed to new evidence in the case and rejected an argument from the defense that evidence wasn't sufficient for a conviction.

According to the federal Bureau of Prisons, Baker is currently serving his sentence at a penitentiary in West Virginia.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.