Suspect who allegedly sucker-punched man with cerebral palsy on video back in custody
WEST CHESTER, Pa. -- The suspect who allegedly punched a man with cerebral palsy last month in Chester County is back in police custody.
Barry Baker, 28, of Georgetown, Delaware, was arrested around 8 a.m. Monday in Uwchlan Township.
Baker was charged in the attack outside a 7-Eleven in West Chester. He was released on bail, then disappeared.
Baker was being sought for failure to appear for a domestic relations matter and on an adult probation warrant.
The arrest was announced by the Chester County sheriff's department and the U.S. Marshals.
"We're pleased that Mr. Baker is in custody," said Chester County Sheriff Carolyn "Bunny" Welsh in a statement. "It was a great effort by multiple agencies."
District Attorney Tom Hogan said the public, through extensive social media contacts, was instrumental in providing leads.
Hogan said investigators received a tip on where Baker would be, and he was tracked through multiple locations through Sunday night and early Monday morning.
He was eventually found at the Clarion Hotel in Exton, Pa.
"Every cop on the street told me that they were looking for this defendant," Hogan said in a statement. "In addition, the public did an outstanding job through social media of getting the word out that the defendant was wanted. Nobody was going to quit until the defendant was in prison, where he belongs."
The brutal incident happened outside the 7-Eleven at 200 South High Street in West Chester around 2:30 a.m. on May 10th.
As the video begins, the victim is seen pulling up in a white SUV just as the suspect walks out of the store.
That's when a man in a yellow sweatshirt, identified by investigators as Baker, appears to mock the victim after he goes inside.
A few minutes later, the victim walks out of the store and the suspect apparently mocks him again.
The suspect then follows the victim into the parking lot and punches the victim in the face without warning.
The victim stumbles backward over the hood of his SUV as the man identified as Baker walks away.
The 22-year-old victim composes himself, gets into his vehicle and drives away.
The victim later contacted police.
