The former was a 35-year-old labourer, who had been locked up for firearms and intimidation charges, while the latter was a 54-year-old farmer, jailed for a year over a high-profile incident in 2022 in which he fatally hit his friend, 33-year-old father-of-two Rikki Robin Lindsay McCall, on an Owaka road.
The incident sent shockwaves through the small community after it was revealed the man had played a major role in the funeral, driving Mr McCall’s coffin to the cemetery in a tractor.
The Dunedin District Court yesterday heard McLachlan was released from prison early this year but remained in touch with his cellmate, topping up his phone card until he too finished his sentence.
"He felt sorry for you," Judge David Robinson told Baker.
The generosity continued once Baker was out; McLachlan would give him small sums of cash.
And on July 11, he picked up Baker, the pair planning to spend the weekend at his rural home.
But within hours, McLachlan had been subjected to a "vicious" 20-minute attack, which left him with a fractured skull, eye socket, nose and cheekbone.
The court heard the men began drinking at noon - beer, vodka and pre-mixers.
That evening, a man and woman visited the house to watch a rugby game with them on television.
Baker’s spiral began when he was asked by the woman why he had been in prison.
Court documents described him as "agitated and angry", but he later appeared to calm.
The visitors left around midnight, but half an hour later they received a text message from McLachlan saying only "come back".
Baker had attacked the victim inside the home, followed him outside to continue the onslaught, then pursued him back into the lounge.
The defendant punched him in the head repeatedly and used a vodka bottle to inflict further damage.
"There was, on any view, extreme violence," Judge Robinson said.
"It was prolonged, it was unprovoked, it was gratuitous."
When the couple eventually returned to the house, they saw Baker laying into the motionless victim.
Their arrival stopped the attack and the defendant left the scene, but before making his exit he claimed McLachlan had confronted him with a knife.
"I’ll be put back in the clink for this," Baker said.
The victim, in a statement, said had it not been for the return of his friends he was sure his former cellmate would have killed him.
McLachlan said medical treatment for his injuries would continue into next year and his nightmares about the episode persisted.
The judge said while several reports about Baker were before the court, none shed any light on the reason behind the brutal assault.
"I’m really at a loss," he said.
Baker had reported paranoid thinking in the past but had no mental health diagnosis, Judge Robinson said.
Alcohol and violence had been normalised during his childhood, but the causative connection with the recent attack remained unclear, the judge said.
While Baker did not have a criminal history featuring such assaults, his offending was becoming more frequent and more serious, the court heard.
Probation assessed him at high risk of committing future crimes and of causing harm to others.
On the charge of injuring with intent to cause grievous bodily harm, Baker was jailed for four and a-half years.
