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Presiding Circuit Court Judge Robert Gusinsky sentenced Dante Baker, 18, to two 15-year prison terms for the incident and for later assaulting another inmate while in custody. The sentences will run concurrently.

Baker was 17 years old on July 6, 2024, when he stole a car from a DoorDash delivery driver who had briefly stepped away to deliver food, leaving her 6-year-old child in the backseat.

Intoxicated at the time, Baker reached speeds of up to 100 mph before crashing the vehicle. The child was not physically harmed. Baker did not know the family and took the car at random.

Baker was initially indicted for first-degree kidnapping, aggravated child abuse, grand theft, second-degree eluding, driving a vehicle while under the influence and driving a vehicle while having .08% or more BAC.

Per an agreement with the State’s Attorney’s Office, Baker pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated child abuse on April 23. Aggravated child abuse is a Class 3 felony that carries a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison and a fine up to $30,000.

Additionally, he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault for the jail incident, which occurred in September 2024 at the Western South ����app Juvenile Services Center. Both cases were initially filed under juvenile criminal court but, per the plea agreement, were moved to adult criminal court.

In exchange for a guilty plea, the state agreed to dismiss all remaining charges.

Senior Deputy State’s Attorney Jason Thomas, who prosecuted both cases, characterized Baker as a threat to public safety.

“The danger to that child’s life and to the public was extraordinary,” Thomas said. “This wasn’t a momentary lapse, it was a chain of reckless, deliberate decisions by someone who knew better.”

Thomas requested the court to consider a 15-year sentence for both charges and for them to run concurrently.

Defense attorney Kyle Beauchamp highlighted Baker’s age, stating he is “an 18-year-old that made incredibly reckless decisions.”

Beauchamp credited Baker’s reckless choices to an unstable childhood, as Baker went from foster home to foster home and started drinking when associating with a “bad crowd.”

Since the incident, Baker has tried to turn his life around by getting his GED and getting a gold badge at the Juvenile Services Center for good behavior, Beauchamp said. 

“Mr. Baker wants to prove he is not the same kid as when he was 17,” Beauchamp said when telling the court how much Baker has grown in the past year.

Beauchamp requested the court consider a suspended sentence for both charges.

Gusinsky acknowledged Baker’s difficult upbringing but agreed with the state’s recommendation, saying the sentence “was necessary to protect the public.”