Man Sentenced In 'Cold-Blooded' Home Invasion Killing In PA

PENNSYLVANIA — A second man has been sentenced in a 2016 home invasion killing in Lancaster County.

Michael Patrick Baker, 42 of Folcroft, Delaware County, will spend the rest of his life in prison for his role in what a judge called a “cold-blooded, ruthless, and senseless killing.”

Baker was convicted of a range of charges, including robbery, burglary, conspiracy, and intimidation of a witness. His sentence, handed down by Lancaster County President Judge David Ashworth, was life without the possibility of parole, plus 23.5 to 60 years.

The incident occurred in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County back on the night of Dec. 2, 2016.

Baker, along with Christopher J. Lyles — who was already been sentenced to life in prison — and Kristopher Smith broke into the home of Dennis Pitch 52, on Timothy Drive, police said. A fourth man who stayed in the vehicle during the killing, Brandon Bills, has also been charged.

The motive was not complex, authorities said, describing Pitch as an “everyday person, a working man."

“Dennis Pitch could be any one of us,” Assistant District Attorney Mark Fetterman said. “The only mistake he made… was mentioning he had some money.”

Once inside the home, Lyles pulled the trigger and shot Pitch in the head and chest, police said.

Investigators said that Baker helped plan and execute the killing.

"This was a not a crime of passion; this was a crime of deliberation,” Judge Ashworth said during the trial, according to an account from the DA's Office.

Bills testified in Baker's trial.

Charges against Smith and Bills have been filed and their trials are pending.