Man Arrested for Wielding Knives at Umatilla Police Chief Thursday, Father Arrested for Resisting Cops

UMATILLA, Florida—A father and son are both facing charges stemming from an incident that started at a home in Umatilla and ended at Gwinn Cadwell Park Thursday afternoon.

Just before 2:45 p.m. Thursday, a Umatilla Police Department officer responded to a battery call on Lakeside Avenue in Umatilla, according to an arrest affidavit. Tracey Todd Baker, 55, told the officer his son, Stacey Reese Baker, 19, had gotten into an argument with his girlfriend and took off on foot. While at that location, the officer heard on the radio UPD Chief Adam Bolton was out with Stacey Baker at Gwinn Cadwell Park, 4 Cassady Street, Umatilla.

The officer pulled up and saw Bolton out in a field with Stacey Baker, “who was wielding two large kitchen knives and in a state of hysteria,” the affidavit states.

Bolton negotiated with Stacey Baker and he dropped the knives. Stacey Baker’s father, Tracey Baker, approached the scene and was given multiple commands to stay away from his son. Tracey Baker failed to comply and as the UPD officer attempted to take him into custody, Stacey Baker picked the knives back up and charged toward the officer and said he would kill him, according to the affidavit.

Stacey Baker then ran from the chief and his officer, throwing the knives as he ran and finally gave up near the skate park. He was taken into custody and placed into a patrol vehicle. Tracey Baker refused to comply with UPD’s commands and resisted being taken into custody; a Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy assisted with restraining Tracey Baker and he was soon taken into custody.

Bolton returned to the residence on Lakeside Avenue and the victim told Bolton she got into an argument with Stacey Baker because she wanted to leave him. She said he became hostile, hit her and choked her. She escaped from his grip and fled into a bathroom where Stacey Baker punched the door and the wall before fleeing the home with her phone and tablet.

Father and son were transported to the Lake County Jail; Tracey Baker is facing a charge of resisting arrest without violence and was released on $2,000 bond. Stacey Baker is facing a multitude of charges, including aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, resisting with violence, battery by strangulation and breach of peace. He is being held on no bond due to failing to appear in court on two prior charges.  

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