Feds arrest man who received controversial pardon from Matt Bevin in slaying

[catbyte]

Billy Kobin
Joe Sonka
Louisville Courier Journal
May 31, 2021


Patrick Baker, a Kentucky man whom then-Gov. Matt Bevin controversially pardoned in late 2019, was arrested by federal authorities Sunday and now may once again face charges in connection with the 2014 death of Donald Mills in Knox County.

The U.S. Marshals Service arrested Baker, 43, on Sunday, and he was booked into the Laurel County Correctional Center in London just after 12:15 a.m. Monday, with the jail log listing his only charge as "federal prisoner held-in transit/court/serveout."

But Mills' sister, Melinda Mills, told The Courier Journal a federal agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives contacted her Monday morning to say that Baker was arrested again in connection with her brother's death.

An FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to email and phone requests for comment Monday from The Courier Journal.

snip

https://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/crime/2021/05/31/feds-arrest-patrick-baker-who-was-pardoned-by-bevin/5280052001/

[Eugene]

1. Pardoned Kentucky man faces new federal charges in slaying

Source: Associated Press

Pardoned Kentucky man faces new federal charges in slaying

By BRUCE SCHREINER
June 1, 2021

FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky man convicted of reckless homicide in a 2014 home invasion and pardoned two years later by then-Gov. Matt Bevin has been arrested on federal charges in connection to the same crime, according to court records unsealed Tuesday.

Patrick Baker is charged with murder committed during a robbery and kidnapping related to drug trafficking, the records show.

A not-guilty plea was entered at Baker’s initial court appearance Tuesday in London, Kentucky. He remained in federal custody pending a detention hearing scheduled for Friday. Attorney Steve Romines, part of Baker’s legal defense team at Tuesday’s hearing, declined comment afterward.

If convicted on the new federal charges in the shooting death of Donald Mills, Baker could face the death penalty or a maximum sentence of life in prison, according to his indictment.

-snip-

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/kentucky-fcfe4dcd0b8b97aee27b010e5961115c