by Ken de la Bastide, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.

ANDERSON — A dispute about the settings on a video game resulted in the arrest of Robert Baker on potential felony charges.

The Madison County prosecutor’s office Monday was given an additional 72 hours to file formal charges against Baker, 45, 1800 block of West Ninth Street, after a 2½-hour standoff Sunday.

Bond was set at $10,000 full cash by Criminal Magistrate Kevin Eads.

Baker is facing preliminary charges of domestic battery with the use of a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, and intimidation, a Level 6 felony.

According to a probable cause affidavit, Anderson police were dispatched at 9:11 a.m. Sunday to the 200 block of West 37th Street. They had been told Baker was holding a gun to a woman’s face, beating and choking her.

After police arrived, three people exited the residence. Baker remained in the house until surrendering to police at 11:50 a.m.

A witness told police she could hear Baker and the woman arguing over a video game, and she observed Baker with his hands on the woman and holding a handgun.

The woman said Baker got mad and accused her of changing the settings on the Call of Duty: Cold War video game, according to the court documents.

She said Baker grabbed her around the neck and threw her onto a bed. He covered her mouth when she attempted to scream. Baker then reportedly grabbed a handgun, chambered a round and threatened to pistol whip her.

Baker told APD detectives he was playing the video game and then started seeing things.

He said he stepped on the woman’s glasses, and she started to yell at him. Baker told police he grabbed a toy gun.

Baker denied grabbing the woman by her neck and threatening her with a gun.

Police found a handgun that matched the woman’s description of the gun. It was hidden underneath a kitchen sink with a round in the chamber.

During his initial hearing, Eads entered a not guilty plea for Baker on charges of escape and theft.

Eads said on Aug. 20 that Baker violated home detention by removing an electronic monitoring device from his ankle.

“I don’t agree with it,” Baker said of the escape and theft charges. “I didn’t escape from home detention.”

Eads set a $5,000 full cash bond on the escape and theft charges.

Baker has pending criminal charges of intimidation, a Level 5 felony; domestic battery, a Level 6 felony; and a misdemeanor charge of criminal mischief for a July incident involving the same woman.

The woman said that in July, Baker threatened to kill her with a knife and that she was both physically and verbally abused at the time.

Leave a Reply