King City police Sgt. Baker pleads no contest to false imprisonment


KING CITY, Calif. —Police Sgt. Mark Baker became the first officer arrested in a King City corruption scandal to enter a no contest plea.
According to the warrant, Kenneth Tippery is a registered sex offender, has been the King City Police Department's IT manager for over two decades, and helped Sgt. Bobby Carrillo illegally gain secret, remote access to the KCPD network.
Baker, 45, of Paso Robles, agreed to a plea deal with the Monterey County District Attorney on Wednesday. Prosecutors dropped a charge of making criminal threats in exchange for Baker pleading no contest to false imprisonment.
He will be sentenced on March 18 and faces a maximum sentence of one year in jail. Baker must serve five years of probation and cannot possess firearms.
Baker has been on paid administrative leave since he was arrested in February. When asked if Baker will be removed from the police force because he cannot have a gun, Assistant District Attorney Steve Somers said that decision is up to the KCPD. 
"In a practical sense, he can no longer be a peace officer. It's a requirement for a police officer to have a gun in order to do his job. I'm not saying what the King City Police Department will do," Somers said.
The district attorney said the investigation into Baker stemmed from an Aug. 19, 2013 incident when Baker's personal truck was stolen and stripped for parts.
Three days later, while Baker was in uniform and on duty, he decided to go find the thief who stole his truck. He found a suspect in a King City motel.
"(Baker) confronted him and threatened him by telling him that he was going to 'make him disappear, and not to jail.' (Baker) was in uniform and armed when he made this threat. The victim, believing the threat, then confessed to possessing the items stolen from (Baker's) truck. Baker gave him two hours to return the items, including $40 for the gas used after the truck was stolen," the District Attorney's Office wrote.
After Baker got his stuff back, he never made an arrest, or filed a police report.
Currently, nearly 40 percent of the King City police force is on paid administrative leave, and the city is being patrolled by 11 sworn officers.
The six officers arrested in the February bust were: Baker, Sgt. Bobby Carrillo, then-Police Chief Bruce Miller, former Police Chief Nick Baldiviez, Officer Mario Mottu, Sr., and Officer Jaime Andrade. Miller's brother, Brian Miller, was also arrested.
Andrade is so far the only officer who has been fired by King City. He was fired by City Manager Michael Powers because of an internal investigation conducted by the city.
Prosecutor Doug Matheson said the investigation into Andrade was spurred when Andrade's stepson, 17-year-old Anthony Ramirez, was arrested by Salinas police in July 2013 for illegally possessing Andrade's handgun. Andrade was charged with two felonies: illegal storage of a firearm and illegal possession of an assault weapon.

Carrillo, both Millers, Baldiviez, Mottu, and Andrade pleaded not guilty and are waiting for their trials to begin.