Arrest Warrant Issued For Grammy Award-Winning Singer Anita Baker

DETROIT (WWJ/AP) - An arrest warrant has been issued for Grammy Award-winning singer Anita Baker.

A Wayne County Circuit judge signed off on the warrant this week after the 56-year-old Baker failed to appear in court for a hearing in a civil lawsuit.

Ray A. Smith Painting & Decorating claims Baker owes $15,000 for work done on her Grosse Pointe home in 2009.

Baker was apparently shocked to hear the news that she's now a wanted woman.

Baker's lawyer, Jamal Hamood, said he plans to file a motion Friday to cancel the warrant. Hamood said Baker wasn't served with papers and didn't know she had been sued in 2011 by Ray A. Smith Painting & Decorating.

Hamood said Baker is out of town and will remain so until the warrant issue is cleared up.

Daniel Gerow, a lawyer for Ray A. Smith Painting & Decorating, told The Detroit News he doesn't want Baker to go to jail, but only wants to see his client get paid.

"I just want to collect the money," Gerow said.

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