Mathew Baker threatened various victims with guns during 48-hour crime spree

A father who held 11 victims at gunpoint and committed violent robberies over a 48-hour crime spree had to be shot by police when he was fleeing arrest.

A meth addict who threatened numerous people across northern Adelaide with a pistol and sawn-off shotgun never wants to go back to his old lifestyle.

Mathew Colin Baker, 34, had cut off his home detention bracelet and was on the run when he committed the violent robberies.

A prosecutor told the Adelaide District Court on Wednesday that Baker’s two-day crime spree involved 11 victims.

“It is clear … that they would have been terrified in the course of this offending,” the prosecutor said.

Baker’s crime spree began when a silver Hyundai sedan was stolen from a Blakeview property on December 21, 2019.

Baker and his co-accused then allegedly threatened to shoot a man inside his Andrews Farm home the following day if he did not give them drugs.

The man was hit in the face with the shotgun before his Subaru station wagon was stolen.

A short time later a man walking home at Blakeview was threatened with a sawn-off shotgun and pistol.

The next incident occurred around 7am at Walkerville when a man drinking coffee with two friends beside a car was threatened by Baker with a shotgun and pistol.

Baker raised both firearms and demanded the victim’s wallet and mobile phone.

Twelve hours later — at 7.30pm — a motorist at Ingle Farm drove off at speed when the driver of a silver car pointed a pistol at him.

The final incident occurred at Valley View when a man playing soccer with friends was confronted by Baker with a pistol and sawn-off shotgun who demanded the keys to his Ford XR6 ute.

Baker then tried to escape from heavily-armed STAR Group officers on a bicycle when they raided a Burton property.

“The firearms used in these offences have not been recovered, which is obviously posing an additional danger to the community,” the prosecutor said.

The Ford ute stolen at gunpoint. Pictures: SA Police

Baker, of Burton, pleaded guilty to multiple counts, including robbery, threatening life and assault.

He has been in Mount Gambier Prison since his arrest.

Heidi Salvemini, for Baker, told the court his drug use had impacted on his mental cognition, leading to him behaving erratically.

“The defendant had a significant meth addiction at the time, he was using up to a gram a day,” she said.

Ms Salvemini said the people Baker had been hanging out with at the time were also drug users.

The court heard the father-of-two had been clean from drugs since going into custody.

“He’s certainly not looking at going back to that lifestyle in any way,” she said.

Ms Salvemini told the court Baker suffered five broken ribs, staples in his head and a burst lung during his arrest.

“The police used some force … he was shot in the back with a rubber bullet,” Ms Salvemini said.

Judge Michael Durrant will sentence Baker next month.