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BRENDEN BAKER v. STATE
BRENDEN BAKER v. STATE
Listen to this articleCriminal law — Sufficiency of the evidence — Burglary and theft
After a jury trial in the Circuit Court for Worcester County, Appellant, Brenden Baker, was convicted of first-degree burglary and theft of property with a value of at least $1,000 but less than $10,000. The trial court sentenced Baker to 20 years in prison for the burglary conviction, and to 10 years in prison for the theft conviction, with the sentences to run concurrently.
At trial, the key question was whether Bill Scott paid Ashley Rogers for her services as a prostitute in cash or in goods from the scene of their rendezvous. In the first scenario, Rogers and her boyfriend, Baker, later returned to the scene and stole items; in the second scenario, Rogers and Baker had a right to the goods and Scott was the thief. By their verdict, the jury apparently believed that Baker and Rogers had returned and stolen the items, and convicted Baker of first-degree burglary and theft of property with a value between $1,000 and $10,000.1 At issue in this appeal is the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain Baker’s convictions.
