Network Indiana
CROMWELL — State Police say a Cromwell man was arrested in Kosciusko County over the weekend soon after he threatened someone with an axe and got stuck in a tree.
On Saturday, police say they were responding to a “chaotic scene” on North SR 13 where they say 39-year-old Michael Baker of Cromwell was threatening someone with an axe and then stole a black Ford pickup and used the Ford to ram another vehicle before leaving.
Police used a police K9 named Daisy to track Baker and followed tracks from the vehicle into nearby woods. Eventually, they found the stolen Ford abandoned at around 11 pm.
“They went into a grid pattern to search and eventually found the suspect they were looking for up in a tree at around 12:19 am. Daisy led the officers into the woods in the right direction,” said State Police Sergeant Ted Bohner. “When the troopers heard the yells (from Baker) for help, they yelled back to him to find where he was.”
Bohner says Baker used a T-shirt and tied it into a loop around his neck and the tree to help him stay in the tree.
“Apparently, he had become tired and the officers tried to talk him down. When he began to climb down, he fell and ended up wedged into some branches about 10 feet up,” said Bohner.
After they helped him up, they took Baker into custody.
“Fortunately for him, all he had were some scrapes from the branches he sustained on the way down,” said Bohner.
The Times-Union reports charges filed against Baker include communication – intimidation (involving) a weapon, theft of a motor vehicle, criminal mischief, criminal recklessness, resisting law enforcement, and leaving the scene of a motor vehicle crash. His preliminary bond totaled $22,500.
