Kidnapping suspect makes court appearance
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: June 05, 2009 2:18 PM
The Red Deer man accused of impersonating a police officer and kidnapping a 16-year-old girl made his first appearance in Red Deer provincial court on Tuesday morning.
Gerard John Baumgarte, 56, stared down or ahead at the court clerk, his hands in handcuffs, clasped in front of his heavy-set body. The clean-cut man with light hair and a ruddy face was dressed in a blue custody jumpsuit.
Baumgarte is charged with personating a police officer, kidnapping with a firearm, assault with a weapon, aggravated sexual assault, uttering a threat and pointing a firearm.
When he was asked whether he understood each charge, he clearly stated ‘Yes’ or ‘Yes ma’am’ to the court clerk.
Police say the girl was taken by a man dressed in a police uniform and his car was complete with flashing blue-and-red lights.
The girl, who can’t be named because she is the alleged victim of a sexual assault and is a minor, was taken late Thursday just metres from her Penhold home.
The girl, who escaped from her captor, called her parents from the Red Deer Bower Place Shopping Centre around 8:30 p.m. on Saturday.
Her family reported her missing on Thursday when she did not return from a trip to a convenience store. They found her truck parked outside with its lights on. Her purse and the juice she bought were inside the vehicle, although her wallet and cellphone weren’t.
Frantic friends and family joined the police search and rescue teams to find the girl. Dogs and choppers were used in the massive hunt that spread across the province and into Saskatchewan over the weekend. Over 15,000 flyers were printed and distributed across the city.
Baumgarte will return to court on Friday.
