Testimony heard in alleged murder trial

SENECA COUNTY—The second day of the Baker alleged murder trial took place Tuesday. Jonathan Baker, 24, is accused of alleged aggravated murder and kidnapping, stemming from a June 2023 incident in which he is alleged to have kidnapped a 7-month-old baby, culminating in the baby's alleged murder. He was indicted by the Seneca County Grand Jury last July. Baker's trial began at 9 a.m. Monday with jury selection, Seneca County Court of Common Pleas Judge Damon Alt presiding. The trial is scheduled through Friday. Amy Weber, owner of TNT Firearms in Findlay, testified to her interaction with Baker. She was present when defendant Baker purchased a firearm from the business on the day of the incident. Weber, her stepfather and son interacted with Baker as he made his purchase. The prosecution played security camera footage of Baker at TNT Firearms, showing him pursuing the store and engaging in conversation with Weber and staff before selecting a weapon for purchase. After the video clip was played, the defense approached the bench along with the prosecution and a portion of the video was replayed. Prosecutor Derek DeVine questioned Weber, about who was present in the video. He then asked her why the video would appear to stop, but the timecode continued to progress. She explained that the security camera is motion-based and stops live recording when there is no movement. The prosecution then played a second video from TNT's security footage, which showed Baker's yellow Camaro pulling into the side parking lot, exiting his vehicle and leaving the frame. The video then shows Baker entering the parking lot again with a bag containing his purchase from TNT. Weber's stepfather is then depicted walking past the vehicle after Baker had entered it. Weber testified that her stepfather lives near the store and had walked home to drop off a t-shirt she had given him. She indicated during her testimony that Baker's behavior that day did not cause concern nor upset her. Upon cross-examination by the defense, Attorney Christopher Bucio confirmed with Weber that she was present in the video along with her stepfather and son. He then asked her if it took all three of them to sell a weapon to Baker. She denied this claim and said that they had all engaged in conversation with one another. Bucio then asserted that Weber was aware of abnormal behavior by Baker, which she refuted. He questioned some circumstances surrounding the interaction such as Baker claiming he was going to a shooting range with some friends but was purchasing a firearm in the middle of the day. Weber again stated that she did not see any cause for concern in her interaction with Baker. Weber was asked about an interaction she had with Tiffin Police Department detectives last month. Bucio read a portion of the police narrative that stated that Weber had described Baker as "weirdly nonchalant" during their interaction. She said that she did not tell the detectives this and was unsure of why that would be written in the narrative. Weber's testimony ended after a re-direct by DeVine in which he asked her a series of questions regarding information that was not in her initial statement to law enforcement, asserting that the initial statement did not contain everything that occurred on that day. After returning from recess, Seneca County Sheriff's Deputy Dylan Breidenbach provided testimony. He has been a road deputy for the sheriff's department for "just under four years." The day of the incident, Breidenbach became aware of a be on lookout (BOLO) involving a yellow Camaro, with a 7-month-old that had been allegedly abducted and heading to the north side of Tiffin. He then headed in that direction from Mercy Health - Tiffin Hospital where he had been conducting road patrol. During that time, off-duty Tiffin Police Lt. Jason Windsor, informed fellow law enforcement that he was behind the Camaro. Breidenbach then headed eastbound on Market Street from Nelson Street where he witnessed both the Camaro and Windsor's vehicles turn onto South Sandusky Street. Windsor pulled to the side so Breidenbach could continue pursuit. Detective Rachel Stafford of Tiffin Police Department was following behind him. Shortly after Breidenbach was directly behind the vehicle, he testified that the Camaro then sped up, turned left and crashed into a house on South Sandusky Street. Breidenbach testified that after the crash, he, Windsor and Stafford exited their vehicles and gave verbal commands to the driver to get out of the vehicle. After receiving no response, the officers approached and saw that the airbags had deployed. He then said that fellow personnel were then able to handcuff the driver, who was identified as Baker. Breidenbach removed a pistol from the front passenger's side of the vehicle, clearing rounds from the chamber and placing the weapon in his squad car until it was given to his sergeant. DeVine questioned Breidenbach about the situation. He asked if the vehicle was traveling in an out-of-the-ordinary way; to which Breidenbach testified that the vehicle was speeding, but that it was not going left or right of center. The prosecution played Breidenbach's body cam footage from the incident, which matched his testimony as to what occurred that day of the incident. In addition, the jury also heard testimony from Tiffin Police Department personnel Lt. Jason Windsor, Detective Rachel Stafford and Detective Eric England all of whom were responding officers. North Baltimore Police Department's Chief Dave Lafferty, who was the first responder to the incident's beginning in North Baltimore. He had been on the phone with Baker for nearly 50 minutes after he allegedly abducted the baby. The trial is set to continue Wednesday.