Dickson Co. sergeant shot and killed
DICKSON — A manhunt remained in effect Wednesday evening for a suspect considered armed and dangerous who authorities say shot and killed a veteran Dickson County Sheriff’s Office sergeant earlier in the day in rural Middle Tennessee.
Details about what transpired during the shooting were sparse, but the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation identified the suspect as 31-year-old Steven Wiggins, a felon with a violent criminal history spanning back more than a decade who was wanted on multiple warrants at the time of the shooting.
Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe identified the deceased deputy as 32year-old Sgt. Daniel Baker, a 10-year veteran of the department with a record of heroism whohad also served in the Marines.
Baker leaves behind a wife and daughter, Bledsoe said.
“He’s one of the guys who put his life on the line every day to keep the community safe ... he was doing that today,” Bledsoe said Wednesday as he fought back tears.
“Not only has our agency lost a brother, but our community has lost a hero.”
The fatal event began about 7 a.m., when a male resident in the Sam Vineyard Road area off Tidwell Switch Road reported seeing a suspicious vehicle, TBI spokeswoman Susan Niland said.
Baker responded to the call, but after a period of time, failed to check in with dispatchers, said Josh Locke, acting TBI director. The vehicle was tracked by GPS in an attempt to find it, and an officer with another agency was able to find the vehicle in a wooded area off of Bear Creek Valley Road about two miles away from the initial call, according to TBI. Baker was found dead inside. Niland said authorities quickly identified Wiggins using video surveillance.
Though Wiggins hasn’t been located, a female has been questioned as part of the investigation into the crime, Bledsoe said.
Residents on Wednesday were being asked to stay inside as local law enforcement agencies from across the midstate, Tennessee Highway Patrol, FBI and U.S. Marshals searched for Wiggins in a three-mile radius from where Baker’s vehicle was found.
Helicopters from THP and the Williamson County Sheriff’s Office were also being used in the search.
Wednesday evening, Baker’s body was escorted by a procession of law enforcement vehicles as it was transported to the Medical Examiner’s office in Nashville.
TBI, the lead agency in the investigation, added Wiggins to its Top 10 Most Wanted list late Wednesday morning and also issued a statewide Tennessee Blue Alert. It’s similar to an AMBER Alert, but used in cases in which a law enforcement officer has been killed or seriously injured in the line of duty.
Bledsoe urged Wiggins to surrender to law enforcement.
“He needs to be held accountable for what we know he has done,” Bledsoe said. “He has the option to do the right thing. People make mistakes, and people do things that are terrible, and this is an evil deed that he’s done, but now he can show people that there’s still something left in him by turning himself in.”
Steven Wiggins had active warrants at time of officer’s killing
At the time of the shooting, records show Wiggins had active warrants issued out of two counties, including one in Dickson County for failure to appear in Dickson County General Sessions Court stemming from February charges of possession of meth and possession of drug paraphernalia.
The Williamson County warrant stems from a July 2016 incident at the Fairview Inn and Suites in which he held a girlfriend at knifepoint. In that case he pleaded guilty to charges of especially aggravated kidnapping, assault and false imprisonment, and was sentenced to five years of probation in December, but failed to report to his probation officer.
Wiggins’ direct family members declined to be interviewed on Wednesday, said Katrina McDonald, the longtime girlfriend of Wiggins’ brother, who became a de facto spokesperson for the family.
McDonald said police came to the family’s home with their guns drawn twice on Wednesday, and relatives were desperate to convince authorities that they hadn’t spoken to Wiggins and don’t know where he is.
“My heart goes out to the (deputy’s) family,” McDonald said. “But we don’t really have anything to do with Steve because we don’t want him around our family. He’s not a bad guy, but he’s gotten into some bad stuff in the past couple of years. And it’s horrible what he’s done, and I don’t understand why he did it.”
Daniel Baker came from family of officers
Bledsoe asked for prayers for both the sergeant’s family and his agency.
Baker’s family, at his home in Dickson on Wednesday afternoon, requested privacy.
He came from a family of law enforcement officers.
The Spring Hill Police Department on Wednesday afternoon reported that his father, Darryl Baker, is a detective at the department and his stepbrother, Evan Bohn, is a Spring Hill officer.
Bledsoe said Baker’s death marks the second officer to die in the line of duty since he was elected sheriff in 2010.
On June 6, 2011, Deputy Keith Bellar witnessed a two-vehicle crash in the city of Dickson and advised dispatch of the incident.
Unknown to Bellar, the accident was part of an aggravated domestic violence assault in which a husband had rammed his wife’s car off of the road. The husband exited his vehicle and immediately began firing shots into the windshield of Bellar’s patrol car.
Bellar was able to return fire but was fatally injured in the process.
He was 27 years old, five days short of his 28th birthday.
TBI is offering a $7,500 reward for information leading to Wiggins’ arrest. Authorities have cautioned civilians not to approach Wiggins, described by police as a white male, 6 feet, 1 inch tall and 220 pounds with balding brown hair.
Anyone with information about Wiggins’ whereabouts is asked to call law enforcement at 615-446-8041 ext. 4 or 911. Emily West, Brett Kellman and Elaina Sauber contributed to this story.
Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.