Man accused of attacking woman, threatening to kill her and busting her windshield

Traci Miller, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
·2 min read

Jul. 19—ANDERSON — A woman told authorities a man she was in a relationship with physically attacked her, told her he was going to kill her and smashed her windshield with a 2x4 when she tried to go to Walmart.

Robert Joseph Baker is charged with Level 5 felony intimidation where defendant draws or uses a deadly weapon, Level 6 felony domestic battery resulting in moderate bodily injury and Class A misdemeanor criminal mischief.

Anderson Police were dispatched to a home in the 200 block of W. 37th Street at 9:17 a.m. for a battery and a man with a knife on July 14.

The woman said she was living with Baker and he had been physically and verbally abusive to her in the past, according to an affidavit of probable cause by APD Officer Christopher Burton.

She told Burton she argued with Baker inside her home when he grabbed her by the hair and shoved her into a dresser, according to the affidavit. The woman said she was not injured, but she left the home and called 911 when Baker pulled a large folding knife out of his pocket and threatened to cut her and kill her.

As the woman was trying to pull her vehicle out of the garage, she said, Baker tried to pull her out of the car by her neck and hair before stepping in front of her car, blocking her escape and smashing the windshield with a 2x4 piece of wood.

Witnesses corroborated what the woman told police, according to the affidavit.

Baker told Burton he "didn't do anything wrong," and that he had been in a verbal argument with the woman and they ended their relationship that morning. He denied touching the woman, pulling a knife out on her or damaging her vehicle with the 2x4.

"Robert stated the windshield was broken from (him) being hit by the vehicle and hitting his head on the windshield," Burton stated in the affidavit. "Let it be known there were no sings of injury at all to Robert's head. The damage to the vehicle was significant enough and extensive enough that it would have caused severe damage to Robert's head had he indeed hit it."

Burton said small glass pieces were located on the 2x4 from it striking the windshield. The estimated cost of damage to the windshield was $1,000.

Follow Traci L. Miller @_TraciMiller on Twitter, email her at traci.miller@heraldbulletin.com, or call her at 765-640-4805.