Man Accused of Preying on Elderly Lakewood Residents

A 45-year-old man was charged Wednesday with bilking several elderly Lakewood residents out of thousands of dollars.

Timothy Baugh was charged with four counts of varying degrees of theft, according to a statement from the Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office.

Baugh contacted three elderly women and an elderly couple between Jan. 1, 2010, and Feb. 2, 2011, and offered to do yard work and minor repairs; then he charged “extremely high prices and played on the victims' emotions by telling sob stories, like his wife needing cancer treatment and a friend with leukemia who needed help,” the prosecutor’s office said in a statement.

Over nine months, he took more than $11,000 from one victim.

He also pressured the victims into paying him, the office said.

“Baugh never openly threatened the victims but intimidated them with his size, when he wasn't manipulating their emotions. He was charged and convicted in 2007 for theft charges involving another elderly victim, whom he bilked out of more than $35,000,” the prosecutor’s office said.

Baugh was arraigned Wednesday and bail was set at $200,000. Trial is scheduled for Nov. 28. (Click on the attached PDF to read the full statement from the prosecutor’s office.)