A Brattleboro man charged with second-degree murder in a fatal shooting has pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of voluntary manslaughter, as well as a drug dealing offense, and will serve at least 14 years in prison.
Nicolas Baker, 36, entered his plea to the felony charge Friday in Windham County Superior criminal court in Brattleboro, related to the August 2022 death of Michael Ledbetter, 31, of Hartford, Connecticut.
In addition to the manslaughter charge, Baker entered guilty pleas to other offenses, including conspiracy to distribute fentanyl and petty larceny. Under the terms of a plea agreement, Baker will serve 14 to 23 years in prison.
Baker had been arraigned on a second-degree murder charge in February 2023 after a grand jury returned an indictment against him.
During Friday’s hearing, Judge John Treadwell read the facts of the case as agreed to by Baker.
According to that “factual stipulation,” the judge said, in the summer of 2022 Ledbetter had been staying at Baker’s apartment and Baker assisted him in the selling of fentanyl and cocaine, with Ledbetter regularly traveling to Hartford, Connecticut, to obtain the drugs.
On Aug. 19, 2022, Baker was upset with Ledbetter and they had an “altercation” at the apartment, the judge said, reading from the document. Baker grabbed his gun, the judge said, and fired four shots at Ledbetter. Ledbetter died moments later.
Earlier court documents in the case reported that Baker had told police he was in his apartment when an intruder, later identified as Ledbetter, entered and attacked him.
Baker had claimed a pistol fell out of Ledbetter’s pocket, which Baker picked up and fired in self-defense.
But, prosecutors wrote in court documents, a later search of Baker’s apartment found a box with a sticker for the same model pistol and serial number as the one seized after the shooting.
Also in searching the apartment, police reported finding illegal drugs.
Windham County Deputy State’s Attorney Steven Brown, the prosecutor, said in court Friday that while Ledbetter’s family members wanted a longer prison term for Baker, they understood the reasoning behind the plea agreement.
Brown also said the evidence gathered by investigators did not support Baker’s earlier self-defense claim.
“We also took the unusual step of impaneling a grand jury to assist us in the investigative phase of this case,” Brown said. “We utilized all of the various resources that we have available to us as state investigators and we were able to piece together what happened.”
Several of Ledbetter’s family members spoke at Friday’s hearing, remembering him as a “loving” and “great” father of four children.
Kim Smith, Ledbetter’s mother, told the court she would have preferred a harsher sentence for Baker, who she repeatedly referred to as a “coward.”
“I’m an eye-for-an-eye type of person,” she said, adding, “I will never, and I mean never, forgive him.”
Addressing Baker, Smith said, “I promise you my son will be haunting you every night.”
Given the opportunity to speak during the hearing before the imposition of the sentence, Baker declined to address the court.
