Harlem hero gets back rifle

The last time Scott Baker had his Marlin lever-action 30-30 rifle was when he brought it to a murder scene, 13 years ago. Two Blaine County deputies had been shot by the time Baker arrived on the scene. Deputy Joshua Rutherford would die there, and Deputy Loren Janis would survive a shoulder wound, only to die of cancer years later.

Baker recently discussed what happened May 29, 2003 and events that followed.

He was on his way home from his nephew's eighth-grade graduation ceremony when he heard the deputies calling for backup on the portable radio he used as a volunteer firefighter with the Harlem Fire Department.

Baker said Janis repeatedly hollered over the radio that he and Rutherford had been shot and they needed backup and medical support. Court documents show that Janis testified about his frustration with the slow responses of law enforcement and medical personnel.

Baker knew both deputies from his time working as a detention officer at the Blaine County Sheriff's office.

"It sounded like help was 15 minutes away. These guys I used to work with, one's down in the field, the other one is shot and bleeding and telling him to hurry up and get someone there. It didn't feel right not doing anything," Baker said. "So I grabbed my rifle and went out there."

Baker said he arrived at the scene, a field across from EZ Mart gas station in Harlem. People had begun to gather.

With rifle in hands, Baker said he crawled across the two-lane highway toward the field. He alerted Janis, who was by his patrol car - with his pistol drawn and pointed toward the field - of his presence.

Baker said Janis was bleeding and said multiple times that he was getting dizzy and that the shooter, Laurence Jackson, "shot Josh."

Both men yelled, over and over, at Jackson to put the gun down, only "in not such a kind way," Baker recalls.

The chaotic event probably didn't last more than a minute, he said, adding that it felt longer, and he and Janis were growing frustrated because Jackson wouldn't put the gun down.

Baker said he had his rifle and Janis his .40-caliber Glock pointed at Jackson, who at one point was near Rutherford's fallen body. Baker said he and Janis hollered at Rutherford, but there was no response.

Both men have said - Baker during the interview, Janis during court testimony - they had drawn a line. If Jackson crossed it, they were ready to fire.

"I said, 'I'm not a cop. I'm a fireman. I don't want to shoot you, but I will,'" Baker said. "I was telling him, 'I got a scope - I'm reading the tattoo on your chest right now.'

"He was in my crosshairs," Baker said. "I remember he didn't have his shirt. I remember this big tattoo across his chest. It was just some words - I think it said 'Jackson,' or something."

Baker estimated Jackson was 50 yards away, one-third of the distance at which he had shot his last deer with that rifle. He said he had the rifle recently sighted and cleaned by the local gunsmith. His sister had just shot a badger with it. He was confident he could hit Jackson if he had to.

Baker and Janis' court testimony said Jackson said "shoot me" multiple times during the ordeal.

But in the end, Jackson dropped the gun and surrendered, hands up, his body covered in blood.

Baker said he gave his rifle to a local he knew and trusted, who was standing nearby, to continue pointing it at Jackson, while he handcuffed Jackson with Janis' handcuffs. Janis continued pointing his pistol at Jackson. Court documents confirm Janis giving testimony that Baker cuffed Jackson.

Baker said he'd been in a few tense situations, but never been in a "life or death situation," up to that point.

His nervousness, Baker said, was probably why he didn't have a live round chambered and ready to fire.

"If my head was clear, I definitely would've had it cocked at the time. I wasn't as prepared as I should've been. It was blunder on my part. If I was a seasoned deputy, I would've felt a little worse about it," Baker said.

Baker's rifle was taken as evidence. It was found to have a spent round in it - the shell of a former bullet - but not a live one. This would raise questions during the trial, in which Jackson was convicted of Rutherford's murder.

Baker said the reason he had a spent casing in his rifle was because his sister had used it, when she shot the badger, and he never cocked in the next round, a maneuver that also ejects the spent casing in that rifle.

Both current Blaine County Attorney Kelsie Harwood and the former, Don Ranstrom, emphatically said Baker was never a suspect in Rutherford's murder. Although neither was the county attorney at the time of the trial, both are familiar with it. No one at the state Attorney General's Office or Blaine County Sheriff's Office said Baker was a suspect either.

Baker said he never believed he was a suspect, either. So he didn't understand why his rifle had been held for 13 years. Jackson was convicted in 2005. Baker was under the impression ballistic evidence showed that Rutherford had been shot with a .40-caliber bullet, whereas his rifle is a .30-caliber.

Baker said he's petitioned every Blaine county attorney since Yvonne Laird to have his rifle released. He said he also "pestered" the Attorney General's Office.

For Baker, getting that rifle back was about more than getting a piece of property back. The rifle was a high school graduation gift from his parents.

"It's the one gun that has a lot of meaning to me. If it was just some gun, I wouldn't be so worried about getting it back. But my dad's pretty sick. He's got congestive heart failure and he'd really like to see me get it back," he said.

The former volunteer firefighter thinks the reason his rifle had been held so long is personal: Certain people in Blaine County don't like him.

He said the county attorney at the time of the Jackson trial, Laird, told him, "You'll be lucky if your grandchildren ever get your gun."

He said Laird's successor, Ranstrom, campaigned at his parents' restaurant, saying if he won, he'd get Baker his rifle back. After he took office, Baker said, all he heard from Ranstrom were excuses.

Baker said the grudge against him begins with Blaine County Sheriff Glenn Huestis.

Baker said things changed after Huestis won election over the previous sheriff, the one who hired Baker at the detention center and whom he supported. His hours at the detention center changed. Although he had seniority, he began working all night shifts. He said he was prevented from taking certain classes while working to become a deputy. The environment got so bad, he walked off in the middle of his shift, he said.

Baker said he got unemployment because he was able to prove he fled a "hostile" work environment. He said the county attorney at the time appealed the decision and he "beat that," as well.

These were events that had happened a couple of years before Baker showed up with his rifle to help Rutherford and Janis.

To Baker, not getting back his rifle long after Jackson's conviction is another hit in a series of politically-oriented strikes at him, though it's worse since the treatment came after acting heroically, he said.

Those officials Baker accuses of the political bullying said things aren't as Baker says they are.

Although a little fuzzy on the details, Ranstrom, Blaine County Clerk of Court Kay Johnson and Huestis said there was no solid evidence to determine the kind of bullet that killed Rutherford. Ranstrom said investigators combed through the field with metal detectors. And all three recalled investigators going as far as burning weeds in their quest for solid evidence.

"There was never any conclusive evidence as to which firearm or what caliber was used because there were no slugs recovered," Ranstrom said during a phone interview.

If Rutherford was shot standing, he said, the bullet could've gone through and up to miles away.

Ranstrom, Johnson and Huestis said the reason the rifle had been held for so long is simple: to prevent giving any advantage to the defense during a Jackson appeal.

"When it comes to a homicide," Montana Attorney General Director of Communications John Barnes said, "the appeals process and all the potential remedies that a convicted person can seek are a lot. It is possible that rifle can be needed again as evidence."

Harwood said Jackson has not exhausted his appeal options and is in the middle of one.

Huestis and Ranstrom said Baker's allegations that Huestis has had it out for him are untrue.

"I disagree. ... I don't care who Scott Baker supported," Huestis said.

"I don't know of anything like that, and, frankly, I don't believe it," Ranstrom said. "Glenn (Huestis) is not the type of person to hold grudges. It's not a big deal to him who anybody supports."

Ranstrom added that his and Huestis' office would have been glad to get rid of that rifle. Quite frankly, Ranstrom said, he was sick of hearing from Baker about that rifle because explaining to Baker the crucial reason for holding the rifle was like "talking to a wall."

In spite of Jackson's appeal, Baker got notice that, after 13 years, he would be getting his rifle back.

During the week of April 18, Blaine County Undersheriff Frank Billmayer II called Baker to tell him the Attorney General's Office and the county attorney had both approved releasing the rifle.

Barnes said the Attorney General's Office requested Baker hold onto the rifle in case it will be needed for future proceedings.

So why couldn't they have released it under the same circumstances years ago?

Barnes said the Attorney General's Office had asked the previous Blaine County attorney, Ranstrom, to release it.

Ranstrom said if he ever got such an order or request, on paper or verbally, he never knew anything about it. He added that if Huestis would've gotten such an authorization, he would've released it.

Huestis said he never heard anything about the Attorney General's Office releasing the rifle either, adding that his office has no contact with the attorney general about seized evidence. That's all done through the county attorney's office, he made sure to point out.

"Somebody's lying," Baker said.

The he-said-she-said between the three offices is a reflection of what he's been dealing with for years, he added.

Baker showed up to the Blaine County Sheriff's office to pick up his rifle April 27.

A few minutes later, he walked out with empty hands, shrugging. The order to release the rifle had been rescinded by an assistant attorney at the Attorney General's Office who might have not known that her boss had given the go-ahead.

Harwood filed another motion to have the rifle released that same day.

The Blaine County District Court judge signed the order and Baker's rifle was delivered to his home Thursday.

Baker pointed out a few dinged spots and the lever needing oiling, but overall, the rifle was in good shape. He said he probably would use it - he didn't see any reason why not to.

Huestis was asked if he thought Baker was a hero for what he did May 2003.

Huestis paced his words, saying, "Scott did what I feel any Blaine County citizen would do in the same situation. Is it classified a hero? There's a lot of definitions of a hero. If I was not in law enforcement and I came up on the same thing, I help somebody - am I a hero? No. I'm a common citizen that did the right thing at the right time. Scott was a good person that did the right thing at the right time. Did it save someone's life? I honestly don't know. That's a question we'll never answer. He just did the right thing at the right time."

Today, Scott Baker works in his father's transport business.