William Blake Baird states in a restaurant review that he grew up in Leighton where he ate at and later worked for Whole Hog Barbecue. Public records suggest his family is from Nashville originally, but he certainly has ties to Leighton as well as to North Florence and Russellville. In short, the now 38 year old Baird has moved around during his four decades of life. Now he may finally be moving south for a long, long time.
Blake, as he is known to friends, has long been the victim of spinal problems. Most with such a marked disability would draw Social Security benefits; Blake told friends that he had a type of trust fund left to him by a well-off relative. Whatever the truth of the matter, Baird did not regularly work. Friends were also quick to say the Leighton man didn’t want a steady job, but often commented that a life of drugs was all he knew and something he would never give up...no matter what it cost him.
From an August 2020 Shoalanda Speaks blog:
Pictured above is 38 year-old William Blake Baird. He's one of those felons with a number of lesser convictions who always gets a second chance. What harm can it do to err on the side of mercy?
A few years ago, Baird and his girlfriend were living in the Leighton area where one of their hobbies was ingesting mind altering substances and then proceeding to shoot up the neighborhood. (Any time you read of Baird, drugs and guns are involved.) One day his neighbor across the street found both her house and vehicle riddled with bullet holes and called authorities.
Baird and his squeeze told deputies that they'd been hunting from their front lawn, but promised they hadn't hit anything at all. Colbert County officers then turned the case over to the game warden. What did the game warden do? He let Baird go with a stern talking to. That must have really taught him a thing or two, right?
Fast forward a year or so and Baird and his companion are living in Florence and have a party...complete with guns and alcohol and God only knows what else. One of the guests was shot, but thankfully his injuries were not life-threatening. Would this have happened if the game warden had arrested Baird when he had the chance?
Obviously, we don't know what would have happened if Blake Baird had been arrested in the Leighton incident, but we do know his criminal career has continued. He's again wanted in the City of Florence on five outstanding warrants. If you know where William Blake Baird is, call 911 or your local police department.
If Blake Baird hadn’t been on the radar of local law enforcement before, he certainly was after the shooting at his North Florence apartment. Baird’s girlfriend admitted to firing the shot that caused a Leighton man to be rushed to the emergency room at ECM Hosital, but police quickly ascertained the many guns found in the garden apartment belonged to Blake. Baird was considered an addict, someone not legally able to own guns. Now a new set of crimes was added to Baird’s resume’.
Both Baird and his girlfriend quickly posted bond and returned to their apartment where they managed to miss several court appearances. Blake may have not been too concerned at this point; he managed to find employment at Pilgrim’s in Russellville. He must have thought things were looking up until he received an eviction notice. Shooting up an apartment will often produce such callous actions.
In case you’re feeling sympathy for the hapless felon, Baird was then accused of attempting to set fire to his digs. As in most things, Blake was unsuccessful and eventually left in the middle of the night with his girlfriend and what little the pair could carry with them.
The couple moved to a motel in Russellville. By this time, Baird was on the City of Florence’s Most Wanted List for his municipal infractions. He was also wanted in Lauderdale Circuit Court on the felony gun and drug charges. An alert employee at a Russellville fast food eatery had read an article about the wanted man in Pen-N-Sword and turned him in.
After Baird’s Russellville capture, he became a solo act. Whether his longtime girlfriend moved on to greener pastures or merely decided to get her life together, Blake had become a loner in his quest for drugs. He was at this point non-compliant with several legal entanglements and virtually unemployable. When addicts reach this stage, they often turn to less than legal ways to earn an income. In Alabama, selling a small amount of drugs is called Distribution. Selling a lot is Trafficking. William Blake Baird was now moving up in the world of crime.
Baird was charged with Drug Trafficking in March 2020. Due to the pandemic conditions, Colbert County allowed the alleged big time drug dealer to post a small bond and again be free. Authorities say the felon promptly dropped off the map for almost a year, wanted in both Colbert and Lauderdale Counties.
In April of 2021, law enforcement captured Baird on outstanding felony warrants. He’s currently being held in the Lauderdale County Detention Center; however, Blake may have no interest in posting bond this time. If he should leave the LCDC, he will be immediately transferred to the Colbert County Jail to be held without bond.
Until now, the justice system has been incredibly lenient with Baird. The public often asks why in such cases, but there’s often no simplistic answer. This time Baird seems to have no “Get out of Jail Free” cards left.
