Mayberry Festival
Slain deputy’s service will ‘always be remembered’
Sgt. Daniel Baker didn’t mind getting dirty.
Actually, the Marine veteran preferred the outdoors, gun or fishing pole in hand, and the camaraderie of his friends.
Marine Sgt. Jason Leck, who served with Baker in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2007, remembers Baker the same way so many Dickson County citizens do.
“[Baker] always wanted to go on missions and fight,” said Leck, who’s currently stationed in Iraq. “He enjoyed getting dirty, being a Marine, and being with his friends.”
MAKING HIS MARK IN DICKSON
After the Marines, Baker began to establish his take-charge, gung-ho attitude in Middle Tennessee. He followed in the footsteps of his father, Darryl Baker — a Spring Hill Police detective — by joining the Dickson County Sheriff’s Office.
Baker’s exploits would continue for 10 years in Dickson County, balancing quick action with an equally quick smile and wit. He waded into creek waters to help a woman trapped in her vehicle, escorted Danica Patrick while she worked with Miranda Lambert on a music video, and chased after a man who fired shots in a local college’s parking lot.
He ingrained himself in the community, too. Jonah’s Pizza, a popular restaurant in the county seat of Charlotte, where the sheriff’s office is located, on posted to social media Thursday it would “make one last pizza sub with mushrooms, just for you.” It was Baker’s favorite sandwich.
But, as often happens, love and life can mellow even a tough guy.
That’s what happened with Baker’s marriage to Lisa and the birth of their daughter, Meredith June.
“Oh goodness, he was a great father,” said Jessica Black, the wife of one of Baker’s closest friends, Dennis Black. “Meredith loved her daddy. He would swing by the house and he would have her with him. They spent a lot of oneon-one time. ‘A HELL OF A FRIEND’
Baker also spent many one-on-one days with Dennis Black. The duo were competitive fishermen in the Dickson County Bass Club.
“He called me every morning on the way to work. We talked about fishing and planning for the weekend,” Black said. “[Wednesday] morning he had taken the call … and he couldn’t call me.”
Baker, 32, was shot and killed that morning during a call to check on a suspicious vehicle, officials said. Steven Wiggins and Erika Castro-Miles are charged with first-degree murder in his death. District Attorney General Ray Crouch Jr. said his office will seek the death penalty for the defendants.
Dennis Black, 35, an employee with the Water Authority of Dickson County, said he befriended Baker while volunteering for Dickson County Fire and Rescue. The two were on various scenes as first responders and struck up conversation.
As members of the local fishing club, they first competed against each other, but eventually their similar styles and personalities brought the two anglers together.
For the next six years, the two went hunting or fishing “every weekend, just about,” Black said.
“He was a hell of a friend. He would do anything for you. He would do anything for anybody, you know?” Black said. “If you needed to talk, he would be there for you. Just an all-round good person.”
Alex Spann bowled with Baker as part of a league at Thunder Alley in Dickson. Their family and other families were part of the group. Like others, Spann talked about that group’s camaraderie and Baker’s mix of lightheartedness and leadership.
“Daniel was just a good guy. Kind of to himself until you got to know him,” said Spann, adding that if a patron was a little too tipsy, Baker would rein the situation in. “Always a smile. He was the same, regardless of uniform, bowling alley.”
Jason Pilkinton, the city of Dickson’s director of planning and zoning, knew Baker for much of the time he worked in the sheriff’s office. They had mutual friends and a shared love of the outdoors.
“[Baker] was an avid hunter and fisherman,” Pilkinton said. “He was a great guy.”
Pilkinton went on to describe Baker as “truly an American hero” with his combined military and law enforcement service.
“It’s tragic,” Pilkinton said.
The connection Baker made in Dickson County was reflected in his wife Lisa’s words, as read by Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe just hours after Wiggins’ capture Friday morning:
“The family and I would like to thank our amazing local community for the outpouring of love and support being shown during this most difficult and trying time. Lastly, I would like to ask our family, friends and community to help our daughter, Meredith, to always know how wonderful and amazing her father is.”
The sheriff continued, choking back tears:
“His service and dedication to his country and community will always be remembered.”