SUMMIT COUNTY, Colo. — The man who was shot by Frisco police in the parking lot of a Whole Foods Jan. 14 pleaded guilty Monday to assaulting a peace officer.
Derek Baker, 34, of Loveland, pleaded guilty to second-degree assault on a peace officer in Summit County District Court, according to a news release from the Fifth Judicial District Attorney’s Office, after police said he attempted to hit a police officer with a car.
A Frisco Police Department officer responded to the Whole Foods to a report of a man assaulting another person in the store. When the officer arrived, according to the release, Baker was leaving the market in his car, but when told to stop his car Baker put his car in reverse and struck a Colorado State Patrol vehicle. He then drove forward toward a Frisco police officer, who fired his gun at the car’s windshield, hitting Baker in the arm.
Baker faces 4-12 years in prison.
“The life of a police officer is one of danger and risk,” Bruce Brown, district attorney, said in the release. “Defendant Baker threatened the life of a police officer but has accepted responsibility for his actions. Hopefully, the help that defendant needs in order to get his life back on track can be received through the ultimate sentence. The incident is another sad chapter about the dangerousness that can accompany mental health challenges and a continuing need to find ways to help people before they present risk of harm to others.”
Baker’s sentencing has been set for 3 p.m. Aug. 26.