Jamie Baker, a 47-year-old Smyrna woman, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for the murder of her husband, James D. Baker II, in 2013. Deputy Attorneys General Jason Cohee and Nicole Hartman secured the plea in Superior Court. Baker pled guilty to Murder Second Degree in February, admitting then that she had used a hypodermic needle to inject antifreeze into steroids her husband James used as a competitive weightlifter. Baker was sentenced to 40 years in prison, followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release, then 2 years of probation.
A 31-year-old Wilmington man will spend more than 15 years in prison after being sentenced as an habitual offender for firearm related charges and a violation of probation. Deputy Attorney General Phillip Casale secured the prison sentence for Isaiah Moore, after winning a conviction for Possession of a Firearm by a Person Prohibited and Possession of Ammunition by a Person Prohibited in a bench trial in Superior Court last week. In August 2016, police made a traffic stop on the car Moore was driving. Moore did not have a valid license and was unable to produce a valid registration for the vehicle. During a search of the vehicle, police discovered a loaded 9mm semi-automatic pistol. Moore was on probation at the time for a prior firearm related conviction. Moore also has previous felony convictions for Assault, Drug Trafficking, and Drug Possession Within 1,000 Feet of a School. Moore was sentenced to 15 years and 3 months in prison, followed by 6 months of either home confinement or work release, then 18 months of probation.
Deputy Attorney General John Taylor secured a guilty plea from a man responsible for a shooting on a Wilmington street. Nykere Jackson, 23, of Wilmington pled to Assault Second Degree, Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony, two counts of Reckless Endangering First Degree. In May 2016, Jackson, while standing with several people, fired several shots into a group across the street in the 100 block of South Franklin Street, hitting one woman in the leg. Jackson faces 2-43 years in prison when sentenced in Superior Court later this year.
A 50-year-old Cheswold man faces 20 to 75 years in prison after a Superior Court jury convicted him of raping his wife then attempting to have her killed. Deputy Attorneys General Denise Weeks-Tappan and Stephen Smith secured the conviction against Mark Bartell for two counts of Rape Second Degree, one count of Rape Fourth Degree, and two counts of Criminal Solicitation. The morning after an argument between Bartell and his wife in November 2015, Bartell raped the woman in her bedroom. After Bartell’s arrest and incarceration, he spoke to other inmates and tried to hire them to kill his wife. Bartell is scheduled for sentencing in May.