Grand Prairie murder suspect gets 5 years on unrelated charges

Posted Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2009 Comments   (0)  Print Share Share Reprints
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By MITCH MITCHELL

mitchmitchell@star-telegram.com

A Grand Prairie man initially suspected of murder was sentenced to five years in prison after he pleaded guilty to two unrelated retaliation charges and a burglary charge, according to authorities.

Charles Baker was a suspect in the death of Tara Nicole Pittman, a 32-year-old woman who was struck by an SUV on Texas 360 on Dec. 15, 2007.

Police said they believed that Pittman was hit while trying to cross the highway on foot, and the Tarrant County medical examiner's office ruled her death an accident.

Police later arrested Baker after a jail inmate said that Baker told him that he had to get out of town because he pushed Pittman out of his vehicle during a drug deal. Baker believed that Pittman was a police informant, the inmate told police.

Baker's attorney said the medical examiner's ruling supported the physical evidence and the court dismissed the murder charge.

According to Lisa Callaghan, Tarrant County assistant district attorney, the murder charge would have been difficult to prove and the five-year sentence proved to be a good resolution for the case.

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