MUSKOGEE, OK – Prosecution witnesses described during a Tuesday hearing undercover drug buys allegedly made during a five-month investigation by a Muskogee, OK, fitness club owner, the Muskogee Phoenix 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, the newspaper reported.
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. The assistant district attorney said Tuesday he presented all the evidence to four of the charges. Evidence will be presented in support of the other two charges when Baker’s preliminary hearing resumes July 12, according to the Phoenix.
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.