Ex-York County cop can withdraw plea in FBI sting case
Tyson Baker, 42, who was a 17-year veteran of the Fairview Township Police Department, initially pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of federal funds.
A former Fairview Township police officer who’s accused of accepting money from a suspected drug trafficker and stealing $3,000 in an FBI sting operation can withdraw his remaining guilty plea in the case, paving the way for a trial in federal court, a judge has ruled.
In a 21-page decision, U.S. District Judge Sylvia H. Rambo wrote that Tyson Baker has genuinely expressed his innocence and not taken contradictory positions. The move, she said, will also not significantly prejudice the government. Jury selection is set to begin on June 12.
“This case has languished long enough without a resolution,” Rambo said in the opinion, which is dated on Thursday.
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Baker, 42, of Fairview Township, who was a 17-year veteran of the Fairview Township Police Department, initially pleaded guilty to two counts of theft of federal funds.
Prosecutors said he received $1,000 taken from a suspected drug trafficker on Nov. 21, 2015. Later, on Dec. 16, he took $3,000 from an undercover FBI vehicle, and gave $1,000 to a police officer who was working as a confidential informant, they said.
But in January, Baker was allowed to withdraw one of the guilty pleas. That’s because, in part, he wrote a letter to the judge stating he “did not orchestrate, suggest, or plan any money being taken” — nor knew it had been stolen. The informant put the cash in his truck, Baker said, though he “did not decline its acceptance.”
READ: 3 cases dropped after ex-Fairview Twp. cop was charged
Jack McMahon, Baker’s attorney, could not be reached.
Dawn Mayko, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Harrisburg, declined to comment.
Assistant U.S. Attorney William Behe argued in court documents against the request to withdraw the guilty plea, and asked the judge to schedule sentencing.
But McMahon said that the plea agreement involved two counts. Following a review of the case with a new attorney, he said, Baker wished to go to trial.
“The reputation of the legal system,” McMahon wrote in court documents, “is well served by this procedure.”
Contact Dylan Segelbaum at 717-771-2102.