A rural Bloomfield man was arrested Sunday after he allegedly struck another man with PVC pipe and when deputies located him, was exhibiting erratic and paranoid behavior.

Rodney Alan Baker, 42, Bloomfield, was arrested by Deputy Camron Frye of the Greene County Sheriff’s Department on Sunday, March 28.

Late Sunday afternoon, GCSD dispatch got a 911 call from a resident in the Lawrence Hollow area who said Baker, who resides in the same area, had been in the man’s yard swinging a PVC pipe and had hit him on the elbow and leg.

When Deputy Frye arrived around 5 p.m., he learned Baker lived in a camper in the neighborhood and had been in the man’s yard when the man was in the process of trading a truck for some go-karts with another individual. He said he was introduced to the other individual by Baker. For an unknown reason, Baker allegedly picked up a piece of PVC pipe and started swinging it at the resident, hitting him in the arm and leg. He also said Baker had tried to throw a brick/cinderblock at him when he was trying to get away from Baker.

Deputy Frye said the resident had redness, scratches and a bloody spot on an elbow and redness to the back of a knee. His injuries were photographed along with a 4-5 foot long PVC pipe that was leaning against a stump.

When GCSD Deputy Michael Coy arrived to assist, the two deputies tried to locate Baker but he was not at his camper residence. They talked to others in the area, including one man who said Baker had come over to his residence an hour or two earlier, asking for a gun but he didn’t give him one.

After a while, they did locate Baker walking in the area of Bruce Drive and Lawrence Hollow Drive, wearing a blue hat and blue jeans but no shirt.

Deputy Frye reported Baker was animated and erratic, struggled to stay still, and was exhibiting behavior similar to a person under the influence of methamphetamine. Baker was allegedly yelling about things that Deputy Frye detailed in a probable cause affidavit – but didn’t make much sense. Deputy Frye said Baker appeared to be paranoid and believed things were happening to him due to some sort of conspiracy.

When Baker was taken into custody, he had a “bud” inside a plastic bag in his hand – the “bud” later field-tested as marijuana.

Baker was booked into the Greene County Jail at 6:08 p.m. His bond was set at $1,500 surety with ten percent cash allowed. As of Monday evening, he had not yet posted bond and was still in jail.

A criminal case was filed Monday against Baker charging him with battery resulting in bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor, and possession of marijuana, a Class B misdemeanor.