Warrants say ex-Columbus political candidate Zeph Baker dragged, beat, abducted woman
The Cobb County warrants for frequent Columbus political candidate Zeph Baker’s weekend arrest allege a violent assault on a domestic partner.
They say that in Mableton on April 20, between 8 a.m. and 10 a.m., Baker dragged the 44-year-old woman by her hair and arms across a floor and beat her with his fists, leaving significant injuries.
The assault “caused abrasions to her left cheek and eye, abrasions on her forehead, and swelling to her right eye and right ear,” the documents say, adding that she “was unable to hear in her right ear.”
He’s further accused of dragging the woman and her 3-year-old child to his 2016 Dodge Ram truck and making her sit on the front passenger floorboard, as he drove around with a pistol in his lap, the warrants say.
Baker drove around Atlanta and then to Columbus before dropping off his captives in Butler, Georgia, where the woman’s parents live, the accusations say.
The 3-year-old, a girl, witnessed Baker’s assault on her mother, authorities say.
Baker was arrested early Saturday and held in the Muscogee County Jail, according to Muscogee County Sheriff Greg Countryman, who said Cobb County authorities took custody of Baker about 1:30 p.m. Tuesday.
The sheriff had announced Saturday on Facebook that his Drug, Gang and Fugitive Unit, along with U.S. Marshals, executed a search warrant for Zephaniah Dwayne Baker at 12:45 a.m. that day.
The warrants cite these charges:
- Kidnapping, a felony
- Aggravated assault (disfigure), a felony
- Possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime, a felony
- Battery (family violence), a misdemeanor
- Third-degree cruelty to children, a misdemeanor.
Baker, 47, was arrested without incident at a residence on Garrett Road in Columbus after a fugitive search that took approximately 16 hours, Countryman said.
Also working on the case were the FBI, Cobb County Police Department, Russell County Sheriff’s Office and Phenix City Police Department.
Baker graduated from Carver High School and Columbus State University. He ran unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2010 and 2018, the Georgia House of Representatives in 2008 and 2022, and Columbus Council in 2014.
According to his website and LinkedIn account, Baker is the owner and executive director of Health Matters, a Columbus-based business providing at-home care for the elderly, outpatient services and residential services for mental health.
He also is founder and CEO of the Zeph Baker Foundation, which honors and provides scholarships for local high school students for their athletic and academic performances.
This story was originally published April 25, 2023 at 4:10 PM.