Freed, at last

FREMONT — After more than three years tangled in a legal hell he never saw coming, Patrick Baker Sr. is a free man.Sandusky County Judge John Dewey signed a motion to dismiss the criminal case against Baker. The judge forced Baker to wait an additional five days since he got that recommendation from a special prosecutor last week."I just got off the phone with the judge and he said he signed the motion," Baker's appeals attorney Geoffrey Oglesby told the Register late Monday afternoon.It was Oglesby who helped Baker win his freedom from a prison cell more than a year ago, when the appeals court overturned Baker's conviction on burglary charges, citing Dewey's improper instructions to the jury. Wood County Prosecutor Paul Dobson, who served as special prosecutor, filed the motion to dismiss the case on Wednesday, saying there was no credible evidence against Baker that could lead to a conviction.Baker first heard the news from the Register."Oh my God. You're kidding me," Baker exclaimed. "I am shocked. I am numb. I am amazed that this is done."For the first time in three years, he said, he can breathe freely."I am happy it is over," he said.Baker was told the charges would be dismissed, but after everything that's happened to him — including spending more than a year in a state prison cell — he could not trust it would be over until the judge signed the motion."It's been a three-year fight." Baker said. "It's a hard thing to understand until you go through it. People are falsely accused, some for worse crimes than mine."Baker claims former Sandusky County sheriff's Detective Sean O'Connell and former county Prosecutor Tom Stierwalt railroaded him into a prison cell.O'Connell came after him because he held a grudge stemming from a traffic accident, in which O'Connell was at fault, Baker said. He also alleges the former detective coached a witness, a man with a long-term drug problem and mental health issues, to finger Baker as a co-conspirator in the burglary.That witness, Shane Heberling, and another man admitted to burglarizing a home in September 2013 in the 200 block of Granville Blvd. in Fremont, and stealing $13,000 in cash and a class ring from a lockbox hidden in the home.Baker was convicted at trial on April 10, 2015, in Dewey's courtroom. The trial lasted less than 30 minutes, and Dewey immediately sentenced him to five years in prison. He spent about 16 months behind bars before the appeals court threw out his conviction, citing improper jury instructions.Baker, after hearing the news, was going to call him mother and then go take a long walk to try to absorb the news."It has never been over until your call," Baker said.His mother, Jeanie Buckingham, said it has been three years of hell."I was a thorn in their side. I am so grateful for Geoff (Olgesby) and for you guys," Buckingham said, referring to the Register's reporting on Baker's case. She chastised Dewey for delaying signing the order.Buckingham never stopped fighting the court or the prosecutors, questioning why the former prosecutor did not dismiss the charges like the Wood County prosecutor's office eventually did."Tom Stierwalt did not have to do what he did. He could have said there was no evidence," Buckingham said.Stierwalt, however, told her he did not like to lose, she said."How many others did they do this to," Buckingham asked.Baker's appeals attorney said he was glad the case was over for Baker."Mr. Baker can now get on with his life," Oglesby said. "The wheels of justice move slowly, but they do move."Olgesby also credited the Register with shining a light on a miscarriage of justice."This is justice," he said. "And it wouldn't have happened without the press pushing for a resolution." *WATCH: Baker and Buckingham will be on "Between The Lines Live," the Register's public affairs show, on Monday.Clyde resident Patrick Baker sits in his dining room on Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2017. After spending 16 months out of a five year sentence in prison for a conviction an appellate court later threw out, Baker was put in legal limbo by former Sandusky County prosecutor, Tom Stierwalt.