![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/Marcus-Baker.webp?resize=480%2C600&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\nMarcus Baker, 60, is accused of threatening a 75-year-old Volunteer Sheriff\u2019s Service Officer (VSSO) at a Publix located off County Road 540A in Lakeland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe expect our law enforcement officers and retired law enforcement officers to set a proper example through their lawful and appropriate behavior,\u201d said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd. \u201cHe set the wrong example. We set the right example by holding him accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The VSSO was conducting parking enforcement at the grocery store on Tuesday, Dec. 30 when he said he saw Baker\u2019s vehicle parked in a marked fire lane. A \u201cNo parking\u201d sign was also posted in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Authorities said Baker had left his vehicle running with the emergency flashers on, despite several open parking spaces being available. He was inside the store for about 15 minutes before coming out and starting to load groceries into his vehicle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The VSSO was preparing to write Baker a ticket when he came out. The volunteer then approached Baker and asked for his driver\u2019s license. The sheriff\u2019s office said all of its VSSOs wear agency-issued uniforms and are \u201cclearly identifiable.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baker was reluctant to provide his driver\u2019s license, initially refusing, and gave several different explanations for why he had parked in the fire lane, according to authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Some of the reasons he gave included \u201cnot feeling well, having a sick dog, and having diabetes,\u201d officials said. Baker also repeatedly emphasized that he was a former law enforcement official, according to the sheriff\u2019s office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Authorities said Baker became agitated when the VSSO issued him a traffic citation and began making threats toward the volunteer, at one point saying that he would follow the VSSO home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe threatened to kick the 75-year-old Volunteer Sheriff\u2019s Service Officer\u2019s butt or used some other words, maybe,\u201d Judd said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The VSSO stated that he became fearful as he walked to his marked vehicle, and Baker followed behind, prompting the VSSO to call for a deputy for backup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baker then returned to his own car and drove past the VSSO in a slow, \u201cintimidating manner,\u201d briefly stopping behind the VSSO\u2019s vehicle before making a U-turn and driving off, the sheriff\u2019s office said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A witness recalled seeing Baker being aggressive, and another woman told investigators she had seen the retired officer park in the fire lane multiple times before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Detectives later spoke with Baker at his home. They said Baker admitted to being involved in a \u201cverbal confrontation,\u201d but denied making any threats. He was ultimately arrested and charged with corruption by threat to a public servant and assault on a law enforcement officer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Baker worked as a deputy for the Polk County Sheriff\u2019s Office from 1995 to 2005 before joining the Lakeland Police Department and retiring from law enforcement in 2021.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe started at the sheriff\u2019s office, then he went to the Lakeland Police Department, then he retired, and now he\u2019s back at the sheriff\u2019s office\u2026 in the county jail as an inmate,\u201d Judd said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n