EDGEWOOD, Md. — Police say 21-year-old Kenneth Baker thought he was meeting a regular customer to sell him more fentanyl-laced heroin, but that man had died earlier that morning.
RELATED: Harford County Detectives arrest Baltimore County man during investigation into two fatal overdoses
Instead, police arrested him in a sting at the Red Roof Inn in Edgewood where he showed up with 50 of the potentially-deadly gel capsules.
Police say also tied a second overdose death to Baker, yet he still only faces drug charges.
“The shame of it is here in Maryland, he faces more jail time for Possession with Intent of Fentanyl than he does for taking a life and you know, that’s craziness,” said Harford County Sheriff Jeffrey Gahler. “In my first several years, we worked with Delegate Teresa Riley here in Harford County…put a bill in three different years that would have made selling heroin, selling fentanyl and contributing to the loss of a life a 30-year felony, and the Maryland legislators didn’t care enough to pass it.”
Following the sting, Baker was back out on the street the following day after bailing out for $500 in cash.
Gahler says reforms in the bail system in Maryland to do away with excessive bonds that kept people behind bars also worked in Baker’s favor even though he was wanted on an outstanding warrant at the time of his arrest and has no known address.
“Is he going to show up for our court date, because he has $500, I would doubt it,” said the sheriff. “We will see.”
Ironically, in addition to the drugs and a digital scale, police say Baker had $647 in cash on him at the time of his arrest---more than enough to meet his bail.
