He pulled a knife on kids who’d ‘draw on his sidewalk and run away when he got up to yell at them’

UMATILLA, Fla. – Two children out with their babysitter had a disturbing situation while “drawing on the concrete sidewalk with chalk.”

A neighbor, William Alfonso Baker, was also there. He “had been outside drinking,” his arrest report said.

“At first, he was nice to the juveniles,” the report from Florida continued, “but then he became angry and started to curse at the juveniles because they had drawn on his side of the concrete sidewalk.

“When she,” the babysitter, “told them to stay on their own side of the sidewalk, defendant Baker would tell them that he is just playing and that they were ok.”

But that wouldn’t last.

“Then,” the report said, “he started to call the kids ‘p****’ and that they ‘could not draw for s***.’

“He then stood up from his chair, pulled out a pocket knife from his pocket, and opened the pocket knife. All while he was saying, ‘Don’t f****** play with me.’”

SEE ALSO: Elderly man attacked neighbor, a senior on a ladder, with spray used ‘to keep kids away,’ report says

The babysitter responded by telling “the juveniles to get inside because they were scared and they just stayed inside. She added that he,” meaning Baker, “just stayed on the sidewalk.”

The children’s ages were not mentioned in the report, but the police officer asked one of them what happened, and, “He told me the neighbor was yelling at them. Juvenile [name] stated he picked up his bike to acted [sic] like he was going to throw it at defendant Baker, but put it down. He stated the defendant grabbed the knife out of his pocket and opened it. Juvenile [name] stated they got scared and ran inside the apartment.”

The other child “was not interviewed, but would say that the neighbor pulled out a knife on them,” the arrest report said.

Then, the cops spoke to Baker, and he reportedly told them, “The juveniles were outside using chalk on his part of the sidewalk. They were wild and did not show him any respect. He stated he would get mad at them because they challenged him. When asked how they [words redacted] challenged him, he said that they would draw on his sidewalk and run away when he got up to yell at them. He admitted to pulling a knife out of his pocket and opened it. He stated he would not hurt them with it.”

Later, the children’s father got home and found out what happened. He called the police, who “met with him, and he stated he wanted to prosecute defendant Baker for pulling a knife on his children.”

Baker was arrested for aggravated assault that night, March 15, 2022, and booked after midnight. He stayed behind bars for more than a month, until April 21, when he was released in lieu of $2,000 bond. 

The case wound its way through the judicial system for 11-and-a-half months, until Feb. 27, 2023, when he pleaded no contest and was sentenced to two years of probation and ordered to pay almost $1,500 in fines and fees.

Baker applied for a payment plan, writing on the form that he couldn’t afford a down payment, but would be able to pay $50 per month.

Violation of Probation Affidavit, June 4, 2024 by Lenny Cohen on Scribd

Baker made it past a year on probation but didn’t see his probation officer in May 2024, when he was required to report monthly.

It took until Oct. 23, but Baker was arrested for the probation violation.

He admitted to the violation on Oct. 4 and was sentenced to 90 days in jail, with a credit of 51 days served. At that point, he had a balance of $1,791.50 to pay.

Baker, 65, was released on Nov. 28, and his probation is scheduled to end Feb. 26, 2025.