Police Won't Confirm Missing Man Has Shooting Connections (Have YOU seen this man?)

RALEIGN, N.C. -- State police in North Carolina said that they're looking for a former resident -- but won't confirm or deny a connection to a string of killings in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

A Raleigh newspaper, The News and Observer, reports that a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has issued a bulletin for Robert Gene Baker III, (pictured, right).

Baker is a former Raleigh resident, but it's unclear when he last lived there. Federal agents said that they believe he's heading south from Washington and may have associates in Virginia and North Carolina.

However, Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose said that there is no information that Baker is in North Carolina.

The paper said that the bulletin describes Baker as a drug user affiliated with various militia and white supremacist groups.

The ATF reports says Baker's family members reported him missing on Monday. Moose said Baker's wife was the last to see him. The ATF report doesn't say where his family lives.

At a Saturday morning press conference, Moose stressed that Baker is not a suspect.

"He is not a suspect. He is a missing person," Moose said. "If he is located, the instructions are to please check on his welfare, his well-being."

Moose said if authorities locate Baker they have no reason to arrest him but will determine if Baker is willing to talk to police.

He is white, 5-feet-9 and 195 pounds, with brown eyes, brown hair and tattoos on both arms and back.

He was said to be traveling south in a white 2000 GMC van with dark lettering. The vehicle has a Maryland registration.

The ATF said that Baker is armed with a handgun and high-powered rifle and should be considered armed and extremely dangerous.

Investigators said that the bullets used in three of the five fatal shootings in Montgomery County, Md., and one in Washington, D.C., were all fired from the same weapon.

An agent from the ATF said that tests of the shell fragments yielded the match. Investigators are still analyzing fragments from two other fatal shootings in Montgomery County that police believe are linked to the others.

Investigators say the same weapon was used to shoot a cab driver at an Aspen Hill Mobil station, a woman at a Kensington Shell station, another woman in front of a post office in Silver Spring, and a 72-year-old man walking on Georgia Avenue, just inside the District line.

Police are still awaiting test results from a non-fatal shooting Friday in Spotsylvania County, Va.

Moose said the ATF transported the vehicle that was near the woman when she was shot to be examined.

"We are convinced there are possible evidentiary items in that vehicle," Moose said.

Previous Stories:

October 5, 2002: Police Connect D.C., Montgomery Shootings
October 4, 2002: Police: D.C., Montgomery Shootings Linked
October 3, 2002: Manhunt Continues; Police Identify Shooting Spree Victims
October 3, 2002: Reward Offered For Arrest of Killing Spree Suspect; Five Dead
October 3, 2002: Local Leaders Respond to Shooting Spree
October 3, 2002: Police Investigate Two Shootings In Montgomery Co.

From WPBF -

Former N.C. Man Located, Not Considered Suspect

A former North Carolina resident who federal authorities had wanted to question about the string of fatal shootings in Montgomery County and D.C. is in police custody.
Moose said Robert Gene Baker III (pictured, left) was located in Fairfax County, Va., and was taken in to custody on an outstanding warrant for auto theft in Florida.
Moose says that Baker is still not considered a suspect in the shootings, but is being questioned. Moose did not elaborate on how or when Baker was taken into custody.
Despite an earlier ATF report that Baker was armed with a handgun and high-powered rifle, Moose said Baker did not have a weapon in his possession when he was taken into custody.
Earlier in the day, The Raleigh news and Observer reported that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms had issued a bulletin for Baker, a former Raleigh resident. (pictured, right).
The bulletin described Baker as a drug user affiliated with various militia and white supremacist groups.
He was said to be traveling south in a white 2000 GMC van with dark lettering registered in Maryland.
The ATF said Baker's family members reported him missing on Monday. Moose said Baker's wife was the last to see him. The ATF report did not say where his family lives.

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