Man will serve penalty in Illinois

NORTHWOOD — A former Northwood man convicted in the nonfatal stabbing of two people in June was sentenced last week to a suspended prison sentence.

Donald Monte Baker, 26, pleaded guilty in November to one count of assault causing serious injury, a felony.

Baker had failed to show up for his sentencing Jan. 21 but turned himself in on a warrant, according to the Worth County Sheriff’s Office.

Worth County District Court Judge Colleen Weiland sentenced Baker to two years of probation, five years in prison, suspended, and a $750 fine, also suspended. He will not have to serve the prison sentence unless he violates his probation.

Baker’s probation will be transferred to Illinois where he resides.

The sentencing order states Baker had a minimal criminal history and that the sentence paralleled recommendations from the prosecutor and the pre-sentence investigation report.

The charge was tied to the June 5 stabbing of Bennie Montgomery, 28, and Valerie Merrideth, 26, both of Northwood.

The stabbing took place after an altercation at the apartments at 607 Seventh St. N., according to reports. Baker used a kitchen knife in the attack.

Montgomery was flown by Mercy Air Med to Mercy Medical Center-North Iowa in Mason City for injuries, while Merrideth drove herself to Mercy, where she was treated and released for less severe stab wounds.

Worth County Sheriff Jay Langenbau, in a previous story, said there had been ongoing trouble between the two men that intensified that night.