A Williamston man is being charged with attempted murder after an incident in which he allegedly ran over his brother with a truck twice and then beat him.
Jonathan Ladane Baker, 54, 106 S. Hamilton St., Williamston, is charged with attempted murder and use of a weapon during a violent crime following the incident which took place Aug. 12.
According to reports, officers responded to the address in reference to a domestic disturbance at approximately 2 am. Patrick Brian Baker, 49, told officers he had been in the hospital for a few days and was returning home and that his brother Jonathan had changed the code to the locks. Baker told officers he was staying in an outbuilding behind the residence. Officers told Baker that due to his state of inebriation , he didn’t need to drive once officers left the scene.
Officers spoke with Jonathan Baker, 54, through a ring doorbell camera. J. Baker told officers they needed to get P. Baker off the property to which officers responded that P. Baker had been staying there and they couldn’t make him leave.
P. Baker was advised to sit under the porch and relax until he was sober and no further action was taken. Officers left the scene and returned to the WPD.
Approximately twenty minutes later, officers observed P. Baker enter the WPD parking lot in his truck driving at a high rate of speed. He then walked into the police department in an excited manner and was observed covered in blood with visible injuries to his face, hand and left forearm.
P. Baker told officers J. Baker had run him over and beat him shortly after officers left the scene.
P. Baker stated J. Baker had struck him with his truck and the tire ran over him. He also stated J. Baker put the truck in reverse and ran over him again. According to P. Baker, his brother then exited the truck and began to assault him by punching him in the face numerous times.
EMS was called and transported P. Baker to Greenville Memorial as a level one trauma. Injuries noted in the police report indicated broken nose, facial fractures, spinal fractures, possible brain bleed and road rash on left knee and both the front and back side.
When officers responded to 106 S. Hamilton, J. Baker denied running P. Baker over but stated he did punch his brother. He also stated what happened was between brothers and that he wasn’t going to talk about it.
Warrants for attempted murder and Use of a Weapon during a Violent Crime were obtained by the WPD for J. Baker on Aug. 13. Search warrants for Baker’s person and cell phone were issued by Judge Cole.
Due to Baker having had two convictions for unlawful carrying of a weapon and a charge of shooting into a dwelling (with no disposition), the Anderson County SWAT team was called in to assist with the arrest.
While waiting for the SWAT team to arrive the residence was under surveillance by Williamston police officers until a plan was put into place to execute the warrant.
Traffic on a portion of South Hamilton Street was blocked by Williamston officers for a period of time. Anderson County SWAT arrived shortly after.
J. Baker was observed walking toward the officer and became “agitated” at which point an officer deployed a patrol rifle and ordered J. Baker to put his hands on his head and lay on the ground. He complied and was taken into custody by AC SWAT Team without incident.
The home was also secured by SWAT and no other subjects were inside. A copy of the warrant was issued to J. Baker and he was transported to Anderson County Detention Center without incident.
Once the scene was secure, at the request of the solicitor, officers obtained a second search warrant to seize Baker’s vehicle.
The vehicle used in the assault, a 2012 GMC Sierra, was towed to the town’s water maintenance shed where it was searched and documented for evidence. DNA samples from front bumper were consistent with the description the victim stated he was struck by.
