MUSKOGEE, OK — During a hearing last month, prosecution witnesses described undercover drug buys allegedly made during a five-month investigation of a Muskogee, OK, fitness club owner, the Muskogee Phoenix newspaper reported.
The owner, Scott Thomas Baker, was arrested Jan. 31 after law enforcers executed a search warrant at Healthplex Fitness Center. During the search, police allegedly discovered a variety of drugs, syringes and more than $6,000 cash in Baker's office, according to the newspaper.
Baker allegedly sold steroids to an undercover agent for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The agent said he began purchasing steroids from a Healthplex employee, Zachary Tincher, in mid-September. The agent testified that he would set up the buys with Tincher, who would go into Baker's office and return with the testosterone. Once Tincher agreed to cooperate with police, the agent said he began dealing directly with Baker, the newspaper reported.
After the Jan. 31 Healthplex raid, Baker was charged with six felony drug charges, and Tincher was charged with three. Assistant District Attorney Jeff Sheridan presented evidence on four of the charges last month. Evidence will be presented on the other two charges when Baker's preliminary hearing resumes July 12, according to the Muskogee Phoenix.
Special District Judge Robin Adair overruled a challenge by Baker's lawyer, Jay Cook, to the sufficiency of the evidence mounted regarding the first four charges presented.
Baker, who faces five counts of distributing a controlled substance and one count of possessing a controlled dangerous substance with intent to distribute, is free on bond, the newspaper reported.