MILLCREEK — Though neighbors did not know him well, a man who is alleged to have planted explosive devices throughout his Millcreek neighborhood has left a strange and sometimes incoherent digital trail, documenting his fall into what appears to be madness.

David Baker, 47, has an extensive online life, posting videos ranging from details on his supposed presidential campaign to recordings of fights with neighbors, including an incident where he threatens a woman with what appears to be a sword.

Online, he often called himself the "Demon Angel of Honesty."

Sunday, Baker barricaded himself in his home, leading to a 4-hour standoff with SWAT teams. Police said he is "mentally unstable" and may have planted explosive devices in his neighbors' homes and at a house high in Mt. Olympus.

As many as 40 homes were evacuated near 3100 East and 3900 South in the East Millcreek/Mt. Olympus area — all houses within 100 yards of David Baker's house at 3830 S. Del Mar.

Still, except for a minor traffic incident in the past, he hasn't had any serious run-ins with law, even though in one of his YouTube videos he says every cop knows him well. Police did say that they have been tracking Baker for several months, however.

Neighbors who know him say he's wealthy, he's running for president, and he calls himself the Rev. David Charles Baker. They've always considered his behavior odd and eccentric, but never a violent threat to the neighborhood.

He's married. But neighbors don't know whether his wife is out of town or whether they separated.

"We don't know what he's doing, he's just kind of a different person," said Jill Healey.

He often went to block parties, but less in recent years, according to neighbors. They threw him a shower when he got married a few years ago.

But, no one felt close to him.

"I think the neighborhood has always been a little bit concerned, just wondering how and what it might escalate to," said Patrick Brain.

One neighbor said she always considered him more of a prankster than a violent threat to anyone. Reports about bombs in neighbors' yards surprised her.

"He does very strange things out in front of the house," she said. "He'll set up things in his front yard, and you wonder, what's going on there?"

Barricades, police caution tape, and even a couple of fire extinguishers. A fake dog stands on his porch and a sign proclaims his run for the presidency.

His next-door neighbor told KSL that he is an heir to a drugstore fortune from the East Coast, and lives on a large allowance, but that information could not be confirmed.

Related:

Man who allegedly placed explosives in neighbors' yards in custody

A 4-hour standoff with a man whom police called "mentally unstable" and who they feared may have planted explosive devices in his neighbors' yards ended without incident Sunday night.

They say Baker changes his hair regularly and recently went from a long mohawk to curly blond hair. Pictures found on Facebook and online videos seem to agree with that description.

On social media, David Baker hadn't posted regularly for several months until Sept. 17 — then you can see a flurry of posts on his blogs, Twitter page and on YouTube.

He also claims that 17 is his "favorite number," in a post on that date, and that 17 is the only "truly random number." This strange obsession is just one among many that show Baker's strange thinking.

Baker claims to be running for President. In another YouTube video he asks viewers to write him in as President of the United States. In a Sept. 17 blog post, he [claims](<http://discipleofdavid.blogspot.com/ target=_blank>) that if he is not elected president, there will be consequences.

"If Proctor BAKER is not elected to the white house, this country will know 13 years of HELL - the ultimate BURNING MAN - with Turd Blossom still in charge of World Government."

In several videos posted on YouTube, he claims God is his vice-presidential running mate and he appears to claim that God's name is Mike Proctor.

It's not clear whether he is talking about what appears to be an actual person that appears on the home page of his website holding a birthday cake dedicated to "Vice President (Michael) Proctor."

"God's my vice presidential candidate," Baker said in yet another Sept. 17 video posting. "It's Mike Proctor. And he said to remind everybody that we're going to put the NRA out of business."

Baker claims in the videos that when he smokes extremely large amnounts of marijuana, which he often calls "blueberry toast," that God begins to speak with him and he feels "God, the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

But the burden of so constantly hearing from "Mike Proctor" weighs on him. He confesses:

"One of the problems talking to God is he says so many things to me, it's hard to keep them all straight," Baker said.

He also said his role was to "crush" the spirit of "lesser men."

"What I was put on this Earth to do is to crush the spirit of lesser men. Anybody who lies to hurt, I make feel uncomfortable."

There are literally hundreds of hours with Baker making a case for his run for President, his concern with the United States government and rants about his neighbors.

In many videos, he talks about his presidential position on guns (some swearing occurs in the video). He claims that everyone over the age of 25 "must" own a gun.

"When the revolution comes it will not be televised, it will be live, and I want everyone in this country armed," he shouts.

Later he says, "Don't let the Devil take over. Turd-blossom is gonna come and take your guns. Obama's gonna come and take your guns."

A posting from Sept. 15 called "Drunks in the street delaying David and getting spanked for it" shows Baker in an altercation with local residents who he says have blocked him while he was driving down the street. It show him holding and threatening neighbors with what he calls a "sword-cane."

"Next time I'm bringing my shotgun," Baker said in the post.

He also said that U.S. Customs and Secret Service were investigating him. Ironically, the Secret Service was on scene, along with Unified Police, during the hours-long standoff.

Neighbors know that he has weapons from his Internet posts, however they say he never showed them outside.

"No one ever felt that Baker was a threat to their children and they expected a peaceful outcome.

"I don't know. I'm an optimist. So, I hope it goes down peacefully. He is — I don't mean to be mean — but he is kind of crazy."

Contributing: David Self Newlin

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