Mocking the Gait of a Cerebral Palsy Man Before Sucker-punching Him

**kellyhound** · #1 ● 08-28-2022, 04:51 PM

Calling him a “bully” and a “coward,” a judge sentenced a Pennsylvania man caught on video sucker-punching a disabled man in an unprovoked attack to three to six years in prison.

Barry Robert Baker Jr., 29, of Coatesville, asked the judge for leniency during Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, claiming he wanted his “life back” after the May 10 assault outside a 7-Eleven in West Chester, Pa.

“I want this behind me,” an emotional Baker told Judge William Mahon during the hearing in West Chester that lasted more than two hours. “I want my life back. This will affect me for the rest of my life. I just want a chance to rebuild it.”

A video showing Baker mocking the gait of a man with cerebral palsy before punching him in the face with a vicious right hand was also shown during the hearing.

The judge, citing the brutal nature of Baker’s action and his flight from apprehension, then sentenced Baker to a total of three to six years in prison for the assault and for violating his parole in a theft-from-a-motor-vehicle case in 2009.

Mahon also blasted Baker for lying to the court, citing Baker’s previous claims that he was unaware he was being sought by police after the assault and his past legal issues.

“I’ve been on the bench for 18 years, and I’ve never had someone misrepresent to me, and be caught doing it, as you,” Mahon said. “You have extreme difficulty with the truth.”

“You are a bully,” Mahon continued. “You are a predator. In 18 years on the bench, I have never had such tangible evidence of someone’s moral compass being so low.”

Mahon’s sentence, according to the newspaper, outweighed sentencing guidelines of between three and 14 months behind bars for the assault and probation to six months of incarceration for fleeing apprehension.

Michael Patrick Ryan, the 22-year-old victim, attended the hearing with his mother, but did not speak during the proceeding. He declined comment when approached by a reporter.

Baker’s attorney, meanwhile, claimed his client was drunk at the time of the assault and mistook Ryan for someone else with whom he had a previous altercation.

Baker, who now has 30 days to appeal the sentence, was also raised in a dysfunctional home and his mother died of a drug overdose, attorney Thomas Purl said.

In 2007, Baker also pleaded guilty to robbing the marked graves of veterans in Pennsylvania, admitting that he stole hundred of bronze flag holders from two cemeteries.

Nearly 250 flag holders valued at $10,000 were recovered from a local scrap company, according to court records.

“My client is very remorseful,” Purl said. “He doesn’t go around hitting people. He’s had a very traumatized time.”