Jury hears evidence in day two of Baker murder trial

Apr. 30—The second day of the murder trial of Samuel Lee Baker included several body camera videos from various Pulaski County Sheriff's deputies who responded to the scene of Robert Claunch's death.

Baker, 25, is accused of shooting Claunch multiple times in the Nancy home of Baker's father, Ronald Baker.

Body cam footage from those deputies who were called as witnesses Tuesday showed an apparently-distraught Ronald Baker repeatedly tell deputies at the scene of the shooting that his son was the person who fired the shots that struck Claunch.

That footage also showed Ronald Baker tell deputies that his son left the area in a "loud" car.

One of the witnesses called to the stand was PCSO detective Branson Patterson, who was a deputy at the time of the event.

Patterson's body cam footage showed him on the scene, talking to fellow deputies and saying that Samuel Baker being considered the suspect was "cut and dry."

While Patterson was not the main investigator in the case, he was there assisting with the investigation by taking photos and searching for both potential suspects and evidence.

His phrase — "cut and dry" — was a point of contention between the prosecution and the defense.

While on the stand, Patterson was asked by defense attorney James Cox whether Patterson thought that was a phrase he should have been using.

"Is that what a crime scene investigator is suppose to do?" Cox asked him. "...That wasn't right, was it?"

"No, sir," Patterson responded.

Patterson went on to say that he believes he meant that the information needed to be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Division (CID).

The same video has audio of other deputies on scene referring to Samuel Baker as "the suspect," and 911 dispatchers call over the radio asking for a description of the suspect's vehicle, meaning multiple members of law enforcement took Ronald Baker at his word that the suspect was his son, who had driven off after the shooting.

Still, Patterson is also seen on video searching the residence's back rooms with another deputy, calling out "Sheriff's Office" before entering each room with guns drawn.

Cox asked Patterson whether he was still looking for a potential suspect in the residence, even though he had believed Ronald Baker's explanation of events.

Patterson said he did search the house as a way of verifying that no suspect was present in case the father was mistaken about those events.

When Cox asked Patterson if he would agree that the case was "poorly investigated," Patterson said no, but agreed that the investigation was "not perfect."

Commonwealth's Attorney David Dalton, acting as lead prosecutor in the trial, also asked Patterson if there should have been as many people as there were — several PCSO deputies and detectives, a Kentucky State Trooper and personnel from EMS, fire and the Coroner's Office, being allowed to enter and leave the crime scene as much as they were.

Patterson said "probably not," and added that it was not the ideal or "perfect" crime scene. In his experience, however, there isn't a perfect crime scene.

Dalton also asked Patterson how long he had spent at the scene after he had called the case "cut and dry," to which Patterson said he spent around two hours.

The shooting took place March 18 in the area of Faubush-Norfleet Road in Nancy.

Testimony throughout the trial is that deputies and medical personnel responded to Ronald Baker's residence just before 10 p.m. that evening.

On Tuesday, the jury also heard testimony from Casey County Sheriff's deputy Vance Davis, who responded to a report around midnight from a Casey County farmer who complained of a prowler in his barn.

Davis said that the witness had stated the prowler left in a "loud" vehicle with front end damage.

Around 2 a.m. Davis said he located a vehicle on Ky. 837 that matched that description.

He began to follow the vehicle, and a chase ensued, with the driver of that vehicle — later identified as Samuel Baker — ultimately losing control of his vehicle and wrecking it, jumping out to run into a wooded area.

The chase ended in a creek, when Davis said he witnessed Samuel Baker get blocked by a fallen tree, turn around and reach into the area of his waistband, like he was reaching for a weapon.

Davis, who had his taser out, switched to his gun, before switching back to his taser and deploying it on Samuel Baker.

He eventually was able to place Samuel Baker into custody, not knowing he was a suspect in a Pulaski County incident until after he had taken him to jail.

After learning from PCSO that Samuel Baker was a suspect in a shooting, Davis said he returned with PCSO representatives to the area he took Baker into custody. There, they located a handgun which PCSO took possession of.

The jury also heard from Jeremy Compton, a volunteer firefighter and trained EMS medical personnel, who responded to the scene of the shooting to provide medical assistance to the victim.

Compton said he was the second person on scene — the first being a PCSO deputy — and when he reached the victim he saw signs of non-revivable death, meaning that the coroner's office needed to be notified.

He said he remained on scene to assist the coroner personnel if needed, and stood outside the residence with PCSO deputies who were looking for evidence, particularly shell casings from a potential murder weapon.

Compton testified that based on his knowledge and experience with firearms, he felt he may have had an idea where those shell casings might have fallen.

Because of that, he stated that he found the shells on the steps outside of the residence.

The trial is expected to continue Wednesday morning.

Carla Slavey can be reached at cslavey@somerset-kentucky.com