Johnson alleged that Baker, the two officers and an unidentified woman in biker's leather entered the club with guns and a "party ball" -- a plastic sphere of beer in a box that serves as a portable keg. The remaining corner of the day's score buys sex -- with a little return on the investment -- about 9 p.m. "I'd go down and say, 'Hey, look at what I've got. In 1987, the two county officials and their wives had bought 120 acres of timberland from Minsie Leathem, the widow of former Sheriff Noah Leathem, for $8,000. "Some of the two- and three-way deals, you might make a couple of thousand dollars each off of it," he said. Used with Special Permission of the Author Then, in June, the Bakers sold the land back to the Cornetts -- for $15,000. Not a well written book but then again this guy was a pot grower not an author per se. He said he wasn't aware of any reason for the price to increase so much. David L. Bell Minor that the payment distribution was intended to divert attention from Craig's good fortune, according to Minor's tape recordings of their conversations. The question I had was what is Ralph going to do with it.". "We do not believe our case is less viable than we thought all along," Rose wrote the court on Aug. 4, 1993. With Bingham's lawyer, Jim Rose III of Fayetteville, pressing hard, the two-day trial provided the first public glimpse of Baker's growing financial holdings. Associated Press text, photo, graphic, audio and/or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. . But he expects to die by September. He says he has personally investigated allegations involving Baker and the county's drug dealing and found no basis for them. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. But Harp said she then ran afoul of the sheriff when she stole $80,000 from a home in the community of Hilltop. HUNTSVILLE From the first radio call two minutes before noon, panic was a partner in the investigation of Billie Jean Phillips' murder. ", And in the Sept. 4 edition of The Madison County Record, Baker posed with a gram-sized mound of sugar substitute and told the newspaper: "There is a certain circle of people using the drug. He thought I did. 'Cause people just don't understand The Bakers, owners of adjoining land, were two of the defendants, although the case file contains no indication that they or anyone else contested Wheeler's claim. Under pressure from Baker, Everett and Knox resigned Aug. 7 from their unpaid positions. U.S. A Harley enthusiast given to wearing biker gear, Baker wore tan pants, a black shirt and gold chains to the federal courthouse. Land there is most commonly used for hunting, timber production or, after clearing, pasture. If you gather all this stuff up, probably if you figure it all out, I've probably made 50[,000] or 100,000 dollars off of land transactions over 30 years," he said. Those dreams became reality for David Mac after the young man from Michigan settled in Madison County, Arkansas. What emerges is a tale of methamphetamine and murder in a place known to its residents as "Booger County.". him". Still, he said, the price seemed in line with other land he looked at. Sheriff Ralph Baker, who's election slogan was "RALPH CARES". Another poll watcher, Derice Davis, signed an affidavit saying that Baker spent most of election day on the porch outside the Hilburn precinct. He talked about how he does it one day last summer. He also owns a Chevrolet Corvette and a Honda Acura, two Harley Davidson motorcycles, five trucks and 19 cows. He approached Baker because he had heard the sheriff was in the market for property in the area. He tracked it back to a break-in at a south Fayetteville auto shop. For years the vehicles of I didn't pursue it.". , David McElyea; First Edition (May 19, 2003), Language Neither has Minor. | Fayetteville lawyer Terry Harper had handled some of his son's previous run-ins with the law. Washington State Department of Corrections, WA. But Enfield rejected claims by Republican attorney Erwin L. Davis that Baker and first-term Treasurer Bolinger had gotten votes from Oklahomans and the dead. How do you keep the deputy prosecutor out of the crime scene?". "That's why Ralph really almost had to sell it to us, because he knows how much that land means to us, and all the family is buried up there in that Brashears Cemetery. Craig and his wife could pay out the remaining $5,000 at $200 a month. He ended the June interview when the subject came up. But a check of probate records in Madison County shows no evidence of an inheritance by either. All rights reserved. The two men agreed that could land him back in prison. Fifty-eight reached disposition, yielding 51 convictions -- an average of about 10 per year. Written By: "I've worked with Ralph Baker 21 years. 27 Madison Ave, Suite 050; Lebanon, NJ 148 Main Street; Franklin Lakes (Admin Only) 851 Franklin Lake Road, Suite 204. The newspaper's search of records found just one transaction that involved Baker borrowing money. No other deputies were listed on copies of receipts provided by Baker in response to an Arkansas Freedom of Information Act request. they don't exist". "Why don't you cool down? 1914/10/19. Fogley is one of the sheriff's most emphatic supporters. Now because of Sheriff Baker's untimely death, many residents Harper says he doesn't remember the details of the case. JEFF PORTER The county was formed on September 30, 1836. Gulledge said she wanted the Wheeler property, but then realized that, because of the confusion over property lines, it took in the living room of Baker's house. Funeral services were held on Friday, Contact. Sheriff Baker's death has touched Madison Minor said Baker took the cash without question but that the two never discussed its purpose. Everett and Knox asked that Hathorn be required to undergo DNA testing, a request they say brought their feud with Baker to a head. "I've never seen anything in writing. Madison County Sheriff's Office, Arkansas. Baker owns at least 1,450 acres, according to tax records. Ralph Baker had served as Sheriff of Madison County, Arkansas, from 1973 until his tragic death on January 5, 1998. Cain's attorney, John Lisle, had pushed for a year for an FBI investigation of the county's drug traffic and its ties to the murder. There he sold ice cream, ammunition and bait, and served up cheeseburgers and fries. But an enterprising deputy circuit clerk found a docket sheet detailing the case of State of Arkansas vs. Ralph Baker and Eugene Masterson. Today on the 10th anniversary of your death, we pause and say a prayer for your family and loved ones that you left behind. Something went wrong. Historians put Madison County's official age at 161. 1999-2001 by Joy Russell. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. Management broke up the fight. Baker, who earns $31,000 a year as Madison County's sheriff and tax collector, declines to talk about his land deals. And his badge is shining bright. (This data I summarized from the front page of Madison County Record dated Jan 8, 1998. "Any minute, somebody could pull up here and come for me. consent. In the news they told the story Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2017. Senior partner Robert G. Crawford said Noreta Baker wrote him a $200,000 check. Sheriff Baker lost his life in the flooded waters of White River near St. Paul in the early morning hours while investigating the theft of stolen property in the area. 1912/09 . Berea Cemetery. He is survived by his wife and two children. "She'd get us stickers for your license plates. The drug dealer is still alive in October, and he says he has no choice but to continue to deal crank from his family home. He said I f****** owed him money, and I didn't. "I'm not going to give you the time of day," Sharp said. By the late 1980s, they had turned toward the big money that methamphetamine could bring. "I sold it to him without her knowledge," she said. After eighteen months, Cain's former boss, Prosecuting Attorney Terry Jones of Fayetteville, assigned the case to a special prosecutor and an ex-FBI agent turned private detective. Ralph Baker in Florida. Your memory will always be honored and revered. Terry Jones, the prosecuting attorney for Madison and Washington counties, is among the latter. Neither these AP materials nor any portion thereof may be stored in a computer except for personal and noncommercial use. Although he has been committed for drug and psychiatric treatment, he says there's no way out from the crank. Jurors cleared Sharp but ordered Baker to pay Bingham $100,320. 20 years ago today, Madison County Sheriff Ralph Baker was killed when his car was swept by floodwaters as he attempted to cross a low-water bridge. by And the Cooperative Extension Service reported early this year that county livestock producers had 66,000 head of cattle and 32,000 hogs and pigs. Baker testified that he earned a little less than $20,000 as sheriff, and that he owned 648 acres of forest and farm land in Madison and Franklin counties and a share of a lake lot in Missouri. But tonight he stops a speeding car, "I wanted to give people who lived there the first chance," he said. Although Ralph's brilliant mind was compromised by dementia, his instincts remained keen. At his home he cannot be found. "All I do all day is sit around this house and wait for them to come," he says. Baker said he advised the Chief of Police of Huntsville of the information he had received by radio and sought that officer's assistance. The check was issued June 19, 1989, by a Michigan-based police insurance risk pool. Over the years, confusion had arisen over the property line. Our payment security system encrypts your information during transmission. The man "had a brother out of his mind or a total drunk all the time," Enfield said. Phillips, a friend of Criss, told her sisters that she had removed a vial of drugs from Cain's office and given it to Criss. Deputy Mike Jeffers Franklin County Sheriff's dept. Unable to add item to List. Rest In Peace. 1988/06/20. The title of this book is misleading. In 1996, the Hams and Bakers sold 40 of the 120 acres to Phillip McGarrah Jr. and Phillip McGarrah Sr. A notice of escrow documenting the transaction does not indicate a price. . But it is also cooked around the knobby hills of Madison and Newton counties, say the people who sell it. Regardless, the story he tells is compelling. HUNTSVILLE Ralph Baker has been buying land longer than he's been sheriff, at least since 1967. As the votes were being counted, Republican poll watcher Dorothy Hoskins swore in an affidavit, a Huntsville man conducted a dollar-a-chance gun raffle and a drunk wandered in and out of the room. The Brashears couple sold the tract to the three Bakers for $7,000 in February 1986. comfort in those memories and in knowing that Ralph will forever remain My husband remembers some of the things that happened. "Ralph's dad was kind of like my dad," he said. It's also a "heck of a good hunting spot.". Sorry, there was a problem loading this page. He was attempting to cross a low water He also does not obtain court orders for the destruction of drugs, creating what other police officials say is the potential for theft. Sheriff Baker had been employed with the Madison County Sheriff's Department for 27 years, 25 of which as the sheriff. She had been strangled. With at least four prior convictions involving drugs and violence, Minor got four years' unsupervised probation after the 1995 seizure of drugs and drug paraphernalia from his Madison County farm. He seldom ever gets a thanks, I don't owe anything, and I haven't owed anything in years.". Absent proof of the drug allegations, he said, there were insufficient grounds to bring criminal charges. Court: COUNTY; Disposition: ADJUDICATION WITHHELD; Disposition Date: Jul 06, 2010; Case NO: 2009-MM-013183-A-O; Arresting Agency: ORANGE COUNTY SHERIFF OFFICE; Ralph Baker . Want even more control of your Reflection? As a teen-ager, his daughter, Patricia Baker, and a friend, Sandra Harp, found some of them in the glove compartment of the sheriff's pickup on March 6, 1977. Baker owns at least 1,450 acres, according to tax records land longer he! Early this year that County livestock producers had 66,000 head of cattle and 32,000 and... 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