Neil Baker, the former UCSB employee arrested last week on felony vandalism charges after he was caught tampering with a window at the school’s Engineering and Sciences Building, pleaded not guilty on 8/23 in Santa Barbara Superior Court. Baker, 54, is also charged with second-degree commercial burglary and trespassing on private property. After he was arrested in 2010 for allegedly making threats against the school — Baker left the university in 2004 after working as a senior development engineer — he was named a “person of interest” by UCSB and has been active in online forums claiming the “UCSB mafia” ruined his life, among other conspiracy theories. Baker is scheduled to appear in court on 9/9 for a preliminary hearing.
