Want even more control of your Reflection? Top subscription boxes right to your door, 1996-2023, Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates, Learn more how customers reviews work on Amazon. Its about Arkansas outlaws and their pot way of life. The ranking police official was Madison County Sheriff Ralph Baker, a close friend of the slain convenience store owner. Arkansas Forestry Commission figures show Madison County produced 111,557 tons of hardwood and 11,502 tons of pine in 1996. Sheriff Ralph Baker drowned after his cruiser was washed into a flooded river while he was searching for a stolen vehicle. No one knows when Madison County got the dubious nickname Booger County. Baker removed the drugs from his truck after the accident. Ralph Baker had served as Sheriff of Madison County, Arkansas, from 1973 until his tragic death on January 5, 1998. The two men agreed that could land him back in prison. Rusty could be a g******** suspect. But tonight he stops a speeding car, He's told me, 'If you want to mess up your mind, that's your fault. Gary Wayne Johnson, a worker at a Wesley broom handle factory, sued Baker, Chief Deputy Steve Treat and former Deputy Steve Corkern, who is now Huntsville's police chief. Clipping found in The Madison County Record in Huntsville, Arkansas on Jan 8, 1998. It was a bed, Phillips' family said later, in which no one ever slept. As a teen-ager, his daughter, Patricia Baker, and a friend, Sandra Harp, found some of them in the glove compartment of the sheriff's pickup on March 6, 1977. The convicted thief and drug dealer, now 34, said she refused when Baker asked her to set up his former son-in-law in a drug deal during a 1994 custody fight over Baker's granddaughter. Baker's former property became part of the Ozark National Forest. October 19, 1997 at 8:55 p.m. Neither has Minor. Marshal: Vacant Courthouse: Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Federal Building and United States Courthouse Address: 300 Ala Moana Boulevard, Room C-109 PO Box 50184. "RALPH CARES". Johnson said they beat him up after he intervened in a squabble between Baker and a female employee at Fayetteville's Bottoms Up Club on March 4, 1993. But the statistics may deceive. Everett and Knox asked that Hathorn be required to undergo DNA testing, a request they say brought their feud with Baker to a head. He said he doesn't worry about the criminal consequences of a crystal methamphetamine -- or "crank" -- habit that costs $4,800 to $6,000 a week. He says Baker has told him the rules. Covered with blood, Frank Eytchenson made his way to a local veterinarian's house and then to the hospital. MICHAEL WHITELEY Baker became sheriff Jan. 1, 1973. The List Price is the suggested retail price of a new product as provided by a manufacturer, supplier, or seller. "I went to some people, and Ralph was one. When Money Grew on Trees: The True Tale of a Marijuana Moonshiner and the Outlaw Sheriff of Madison County, Arkansas. It's one of the last places where you can get a little privacy.". all 12 Reflections, Reflections Terms of Use (revised 5/31/2012), View, edit or delete any Reflection you've left in the past. Regardless, the story he tells is compelling. Eligible for Return, Refund or Replacement within 30 days of receipt. Phillips paid off the drug debts of her brother, Robert McKnight. "I've worked with Ralph Baker 21 years. January 9,1998, at the St. Paul High School Gymnasium with a crowd estimated That's no way for a sheriff to be acting," Johnson said he told Baker. We work hard to protect your security and privacy. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reviewed mortgage, deed and property tax records in Madison, Carroll, Franklin, Sebastian and Washington counties. ', "But when you start breaking down doors, then Ralph gets mad," the dealer adds. Fred Raymond Crumley. ", And in the Sept. 4 edition of The Madison County Record, Baker posed with a gram-sized mound of sugar substitute and told the newspaper: "There is a certain circle of people using the drug. Now he doesn't know a holiday Baker and his partners now own at least 1,450 acres, mostly in southern Madison County, valued at $227,865, according to tax records. What emerges is a tale of methamphetamine and murder in a place known to its residents as "Booger County.". "Some of the two- and three-way deals, you might make a couple of thousand dollars each off of it," he said. It came as no surprise to local drug dealers or to the family of Billie Jean Phillips. "I'm not going to give you the time of day," Sharp said. Drug dealers who acknowledge being paid by either Baker's agency or the federal Drug Enforcement Administration for help with Madison County drug busts say they never received payments of more than $100, and then no more often than a few times a year. But my lawyer told me I couldn't prove I'd given them to him.". for Ralph"Don't waste your time looking for someone like Ralph, because Ralph Baker Dead 1/8/98 "It became a moot point when the employee resigned.". A much smaller transaction gave Baker his living room back. I pray for solace for all those who love and miss "Ralph don't put up with any bull****. He acknowledges that former Special Prosecutor John Everett and former investigator Jack Knox kept from him much of what they found during the 16 months they headed the investigation. Land there is most commonly used for hunting, timber production or, after clearing, pasture. The second acquisition the newspaper found came in 1974, when Baker's father, Bill Baker, deeded 6.23 acres to his son. The same day, she and her husband sold it to the Bakers, again for $6,000. Thank you for your service to the citizens of Madison County and your fellowman. He was attempting to cross a low water But the farther I got into the book the more errors I found that were not caught in editing. Dealings at the courthouse have always provided plentiful fuel for Madison County's rumor mill, which went into overdrive when Diana Criss quit her 12-year job as an Arkansas Revenue Department cashier Aug. 26, 1996. My Dad and Uncles used to tell us all kinds of stories about Ralph Baker. "A lot of people live paycheck to paycheck and day to day. In the words of one person who viewed a videotape of the crime scene made at 4:30 that afternoon, the bed appeared to have been "wallered in." "That goes for both of you. I'm sure you wouldn't want a bunch of wrecked cars 20 foot from your folks' grave.". Well, he walks up to the driver's window, Fifty-eight reached disposition, yielding 51 convictions -- an average of about 10 per year. Along the way, the unlikely duo of lawman and outlaw discovered that greed ruins even the best-laid plans, and the Devil always gets His due. Washington State Department of Corrections, Dallas County Sheriff's Department, Texas, Copyright 1996-2023, The Officer Down Memorial Page, Inc, Registration for the 2023 National Police Week 5K goes up $5 on March 2nd save on our introductory pricing and, register today to run or walk in your hometown, Reflections Terms of Use (revised 5/31/2012), View, edit or delete any Reflection you've left in the past. The remaining corner of the day's score buys sex -- with a little return on the investment -- about 9 p.m. "I'd go down and say, 'Hey, look at what I've got. Although Ralph's brilliant mind was compromised by dementia, his instincts remained keen. : 1988/06/20. Residents say it was a haven for bank robbers and other outlaws in the 1920s. In the 1960s and 1970s, second-generation moonshiners switched crops and blanketed the county's deep woods with a particularly hearty breed of marijuana. In that time, Baker has taken only one mortgage, for $8,000. "I'm retired, I'm alive, and I plan to stay that way.". A young Huntsville man whose criminal record includes multiple convictions for stealing shares Harp's perception of how things work. Probate records there show a $10 inheritance from the estate of Joseph Sphere Burrell in September 1963. Sheriff Ralph Baker, the man who befriended David Mac, and taught him what it means to be an outlaw. . "I don't know how much you boys make writing stories, but we pay pretty well," Baker said. In 1977, he killed himself with a shotgun at the family store, which burned down soon after his death. Reviewed in the United States on September 19, 2020. Baker dismissed that concern during a three-hour interview in June. God Bless! Enfield, now retired in Benton County, said the election challenge was significant "only from the fact that Clinton ended up as governor and as president. And he gets so mad at the court system Please try again. All rights reserved. I have read this book a few years ago, it is actually written about the Sheriff of Madison County in Arkansas. This is Mac's story of damnation and redemption. A year later, with Crumbley retiring, Baker won office as part of a slate of political newcomers, defeating Republican Johnny Reed 2,844-2,681. Cain was the last of the three to arrive, and he got there at least 10 minutes before Deputy Danny Livermore entered Phillips' blood-spattered bedroom to find the body of the pretty, 35-year-old Alabam woman lying against a wall. "They're doing Craig and me and you and everybody one hell of a favor here," Harper reminded Minor. "Ralph's dad was kind of like my dad," he said. "She'd get us stickers for your license plates. "This girl down the street here. by If they wanted to sell something, we managed to come up with the money for it.". In the news they told the story He asked how come [his brother] couldn't go into town to vote, and the man responded, `Well, I tell you, friend, he were loud and drunker than hell. Johnson went to the hospital. He listed his age as 18, hers as 16. In the last two years, those transactions have involved selling, rather than buying. He isn't afraid of being arrested by the sheriff. With what's left, I'd cut off one little corner and save it and then do the rest of that.". By the late 1980s, they had turned toward the big money that methamphetamine could bring. He called Harper, and Harper called Baker. Otherwise, he has paid cash. Kenneth Baker said the lack of a formal record of Ralph Baker's inheritance is a reflection of Bill Baker's distrust of banks. The Madison Avenue storefront today. Those dreams became reality for David Mac after the young man from Michigan settled in Madison County, Arkansas. Harp's relationship with the sheriff followed her into adulthood. It's a story about drugs and arson, murder and suicide, friendship and betrayal. "Homebodies don't get in much trouble unless you're kicking down doors," the man said. Full content visible, double tap to read brief content. There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Minor said Baker took the cash without question but that the two never discussed its purpose. Baker insists it will be. When I was little I remember the Cock Fights in our yard and the Moonshine in the Sheds. In the past two weeks, he has not returned the newspaper's telephone calls. Cain would spend $100,000 trying to clear himself. Less than a year later, in February 1994, the Ham trust sold a half-interest to the R&N Baker Trust, again for $4,000. Shipping cost, delivery date, and order total (including tax) shown at checkout. His hair is graying. Ralph Francis Baker was born Sept. 1, 1938, near the town of St. Paul, once a bustling banking, railroad and timber center in southern Madison County. I'm ready for them when they come, though. One man from whom McKnight bought, Steve Hathorn, beat him over a debt from drugs and building materials a year after Phillips died. The former owner of a once-prosperous butcher shop, Baker who was broke following two trials, vowed to reopen his business in Elwood but ended up doing so in Indianapolis instead. Rose, who represented Johnson, told the court he was "personally disappointed" with Johnson's decision. Washington State Department of Corrections, WA. In much trouble unless you 're kicking down doors, '' Harper reminded.... A shotgun at the court he was `` personally disappointed '' with Johnson 's decision the money. N'T afraid of being arrested by the sheriff followed her into adulthood record... 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