Death penalty sought in East Rochester shooting
BEAVER - A New Sewickley Township man accused of shooting his estranged wife and killing her companion is now facing the death penalty.
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Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh announced during Gregory Baker's arraignment Wednesday that his office would seek the capital punishment. Within moments, one of Baker's two daughters, Kari, collapsed into tears, sobbing through the remainder of her father's court proceeding.
Baker, 55, is accused of shooting his estranged wife, Linda, and Thomas Dougherty in the parking lot of the East Rochester Plaza on Dec. 3.
Linda Baker testified during her husband's preliminary hearing in February that as she and Dougherty left a restaurant, Greg Baker got out of a car while brandishing a pistol.
"This is what you get for (having sex) with my wife," Linda Baker said her husband told Dougherty before firing several shots.
Dougherty, 48, of Chippewa Township, died from four gunshot wounds to the chest. Linda Baker also was wounded but has recovered.
Linda Baker said she and Dougherty were not romantically involved.
According to court documents, Linda Baker filed for divorce from her husband just days before the shooting.
Berosh said he was seeking the death penalty because of two factors. First, Dougherty's death came during the commission of another felony, namely the shooting of Linda Baker.
Second, in the process of the shooting, Baker placed others in danger, Berosh said.
Gregory Baker entered a not-guilty plea as he stood before Judge John P. Dohanich. At the end of his arraignment on charges of criminal homicide, attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment, he looked at family members, mouthed, "I love you guys" and blew them a kiss.
Linda Baker didn't show any emotion as she left her husband's arraignment; she declined to speak to reporters.
Gregory Baker's defense attorney, Stephen Colafella, said that even though the case was "a tragic situation," he didn't feel that there were "extraordinary elements to justify something that extreme" in seeking the death penalty.
Linda Baker's mother, Sue Acre, 72, of Rochester, said that the shooting "breaks my heart. I'm torn. (The shooting has) broken up so many, many families."
Gregory Baker remained in the Beaver County Jail Wednesday, ineligible for bond.
Bill Vidonic can be reached online at bvidonic@timesonline.com.
Others on death row
There are two men currently awaiting execution for crimes committed in Beaver County. They are:
- Andre Stevens, 65, of Monaca.
Crime: In 1992, Stevens walked into a Rochester bar and shot his estranged wife, Brenda Jo Stevens, 28, and Michael Love, 28.
Sentence: In 1993, Stevens was convicted of first-degree murder for both killings and sentenced to death.
Status: In 2004, a federal judge ruled that Stevens' constitutional rights were violated during jury selection for his 1993 trial, because a potential juror who said she didn't believe in the death penalty was dismissed.
The sentence remains on appeal. Stevens is in state prison in Greene County.
- Richard Baumhammers, 44, of Mount Lebanon.
Crime: Went on a shooting spree in Allegheny and Beaver counties in April 2000, killing five people and wounding one other, who later died. Among the dead was Garry Lee, 22, of Aliquippa, shot to death in a Center Township karate studio.
Sentence: In 2001, Baumhammers was convicted of five counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, and sentenced to death.
Status: Baumhammers' convictions remain on appeal in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He is in state prison in Greene County.
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