A mentally ill man who stabbed a west Little Rock homeowner in a nighttime ambush in the victim's backyard three years ago has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.
Determining whether Jordan Scott Baker, who has schizophrenia, was competent to stand trial took more than two years of examination and treatment by state doctors, court filings show. He was arrested about a week after Chris Hill, 43, was attacked in August 2016 behind his Crestmont Drive home in the Robinwood subdivision.
According to sentencing papers filed Thursday by deputy prosecutor Grayson Hinojosa, Baker pleaded guilty to aggravated residential burglary in exchange for the 30-year term from Pulaski County Circuit Judge Leon Johnson.
Under the conditions of the plea agreement negotiated by Baker's attorney David Sudduth, prosecutors dropped a breaking or entering charge related to the case and an unrelated count.
Baker was taken into custody the day after Little Rock detectives found Hill's stolen Stihl weed trimmer at a pawnshop and determined that Jordan had hocked it.
According to police reports, a burglar alarm brought officers to the Hill family home about 5:15 p.m. Aug. 18, 2016. The door to the house's crawl space was open and the padlock had been cut off. Police checked the crawl space, which does not have direct access to the residence, and the house but found nothing amiss.
Officers collected the lock for evidence since it had muddy fingerprints on it.
Three hours later, the married father of three was attacked after finding a man sitting in the crawl space. Hill said he discovered the intruder while replacing the lock.
Hill told the stranger to leave and was backing out of the room when the man attacked him, hitting him in the back and head. Hill said he was still trying to back away when the assailant grabbed him by his legs and pulled him to the ground, dragging him down the steps, across the patio and toward some woods as Hill screamed for help.
He told police he thought the attacker meant to kill him and was dragging toward an empty house on Kingston Drive. Hill said he pulled free and ran into his garage and into the home but didn't see where his attacker went. Police searched the area, discovering a small knife, and questioned neighbors but did not find the attacker.
Detectives who interviewed Hill in the hospital emergency room documented a large knot on his head, a stab wound to the upper right shoulder and numerous scratches along his chest, court filings show.
Six hours after Hill was attacked, the property's burglar alarm sounded again. Police found the crawl space door open again. This time, a cordless drill, a socket set, a red gas can and a Stihl weed trimmer had been taken.
Baker, who has spent the past 14 years either on parole, on probation or incarcerated, had already been a fugitive for about three weeks when he was arrested. An arrest warrant had been issued after he missed a court appearance on a felony terroristic threatening charge, based on allegations he'd threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend's children.
That charge has since been dropped, but during those court proceedings Baker was diagnosed with schizophrenia and found unfit to proceed after a court-ordered mental examination in August 2015.
The finding by state doctors led him to be court-ordered into the custody of the Arkansas State Hospital in October 2015 for a treatment and evaluation program as an outpatient.
Six months later, in April 2016, hospital officials reported they could not contact him to begin the program. In June 2016, they again reported they could not get a hold of him to admit him to the hospital.
NW News on 08/21/2019