WASHINGTON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, Ark. — One of two men accused of kidnapping and murdering a man from Springdale in 2021 has pleaded guilty and been sentenced.
Reginald Larue Baker was supposed to go to trial on May 6 this year. Instead, on April 5, he changed his plea from not guilty to guilty and was sentenced to 60 years in prison for acting as an accomplice to first-degree murder and kidnapping.
Additionally, Baker faces a suspended sentence of 40 years for accomplice to aggravated residential burglary.
Court documents say Baker dodged the death penalty by pleading guilty. Going into his sentence, he has 861 days of jail credit.
39-year-old Richard Phillips, of Springdale, had last been seen at the Peaks Apartments on Cooper Drive on Nov. 23, 2021. Less than a week later, his body was found by a group of hunters near Seligman, Missouri. Phillips' body was found badly beaten, shot and mutilated, according to an affidavit.
After an extensive investigation, Baker of Seligman, Missouri, and Daniel Blanks of Fort Smith, Arkansas, were named suspects in the case and arrested in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
An eyewitness told investigators that the two men entered Phillips' apartment and began beating him. They were accusing him of raping a 6-year-old girl, according to an affidavit. The girl was at a birthday party in late October with Baker, Blanks and Phillips. She allegedly told the suspects that Phillips sexually abused her when she was 6 years old, which made Baker angry.
Investigators also discovered that Baker is the ex-boyfriend of Phillips' wife and was "well acquainted" with the minor who alleged Phillips raped her.
Blanks still awaits trial. He has a status hearing scheduled for Sept. 20, 2024, in Washington County.
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