On October 15TH, 2015 at approximately 11:53 PM, Burlington Police Officers were dispatched to a residence on Church Street for a report of a disturbance. The caller advised that a male pulled a gun on the residents. The male was last seen running north on Church Street and was reportedly still brandishing a hammer.
The victims advised Officers of banging noises on their apartment door. When they opened the door, an acquaintance whom they knew as “Eric”, pointed a handgun at them, while holding a hammer in the other hand, and demanding money that was owned to him. The victims were able to fend off the suspect.
A description of the suspect was provided and Officers located a male matching the description several blocks away. The suspect was identified as Eric S. Baker, age 38, of Burlington VT. Baker admitted to going to the victims’ residence to demand money that was owed to him. Baker admitted brandishing a hammer and a pellet gun. Baker discarded the items prior to being located by Police. Officers were able to locate both the hammer and the pellet gun as evidence. It should be noted that although the gun was a replica, it did not have an orange tip and could easily be mistaken for a real gun.
Baker is currently jailed at the Chittenden County Correctional Facility for lack of $10,000 bail. Baker is expected to be arraigned Friday morning, October 16TH, 2015 for Aggravated Assault.
Baker’s criminal history showed 2 felony convictions, 11 misdemeanor convictions and 1 failure to appear.
A person found guilty of Aggravated Assault, Vermont Title 13 VSA 1024(a)(5), shall be imprisoned for not more than 5 years or fined not more than $5,000 or both.
