New records describe final moments before Sgt. Daniel Baker’s death

It started as a routine call, the kind Dickson County Sheriff ’s Office Sgt. Daniel Baker had made countless times in his 10 years on the job.

Then, without warning, it turned deadly.

Until Friday, little was known about the May 30 shooting that killed Baker. But newly released federal documents brought the final moments in the life of the community hero into chilling focus while also crystallizing the case against the man accused of killing him. Body camera footage caught all of it. Baker arrived at the intersection of Sam Vineyard and Tidwell Switch roads early that Wednesday morning to investigate reports of a suspicious vehicle. When he arrived, he saw a brown sedan parked in the road facing the wrong way, according to an affidavit prepared by Todd Stacy, a special agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives who has investigated the case.

Steven Wiggins and Erika CastroMiles were inside, according to the affidavit. Wiggins and Castro-Miles have both been charged in Baker’s death.

Wiggins told Baker the car had a flat tire and they were waiting for help. After checking the car’s license plate, Baker determined it was stolen and asked Wiggins to step outside. The burst of gunfire was immediate. “Based on the body camera footage, Wiggins initially fired approximately five shots, at least one of which struck Sgt. Baker as he attempted to get away from Wiggins and get to cover,” according to the affidavit. “Sgt. Baker only traveled a short distance down the road before he collapsed.”

Then, the affidavit stated, Wiggins walked up and fired five more shots, this time “at close range and while Sgt. Baker was lying wounded on the ground.” Baker suffered six gunshot wounds, including three to the head.

The affidavit then describes how Wiggins took Baker’s patrol vehicle, dragged Baker’s body inside and drove away. After driving into a field a few miles away, Wiggins set fire to the vehicle and left.

By the time his colleagues found him later that morning, Baker’s uniform was charred and his body was “blackened.”

Wiggins admitted to shooting Baker ‘like a dog,’ probe shows

Authorities captured Wiggins on June 1 after a massive manhunt. Investigators said he was carrying the gun that killed Baker.

He was also carrying a pistol Baker’s wife had purchased, according to the affidavit.

In an interview with Tennessee Bureau of Investigation agents, Wiggins waived his rights to an attorney and spoke openly about the crime, according to the affidavit. He described hiding the gun under his seat in the car “to keep himself safe.”

Wiggins recalled “squeezing” the trigger as Baker approached the car. At one point, the affidavit stated, he told investigators he “attempted to perform CPR” on the officer.

But evidence contradicted that account.

“The body camera footage does not show that Wiggins attempted CPR on Sgt. Baker,” the affidavit read.

After agents confronted him with the discrepancy, Wiggins amended his statement. He told the investigators that he thought Baker was dead after the first round of gunfire, but that he “didn’t want the man to suffer,” according to the affidavit.

“Therefore, he stated he shot Sgt. Baker in the head multiple times: ‘like a dog, you know, man, it’s suffering,’ ” the affidavit stated, recounting Wiggins’ words. “‘You make sure.’ ”

Wiggins said he moved Baker’s body and set fire to the patrol vehicle because “he was thinking about the television show CSI and was worried about forensic evidence and fingerprints,” the affidavit read.

“Wiggins stated that he was worried about potential evidence because he ‘just killed a cop.’ ”

Authorities join big show of force in case against Wiggins

Baker’s death was met with a wellspring of grief from the community.

People gathered on lawn chairs and under umbrellas earlier this week to watch Baker’s funeral procession roll down U.S. 70. Hundreds of law enforcement vehicles, including 150 police motorcycles, escorted his hearse to the cemetery.

Many have responded to this tragedy the same way they did in April when authorities announced that local 5-yearold Joe Clyde Daniels’ parents had been charged in his death. They have demanded justice. On Friday, the benches of a Dickson County courtroom were crowded with Baker’s friends, family and colleagues when Wiggins appeared in an orange jumpsuit and Baker’s handcuffs.

Wiggins pleaded not guilty to 12 state charges, including first degree murder, arson and abuse of a corpse.

Baker’s widow Lisa Baker watched from the gallery with tears in her eyes.

The district attorney is seeking the death penalty the state’s case against Wiggins. His trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 19, 2019.

Castro-Miles, who also was charged with first degree murder in the case, pleaded not guilty Friday as well.

After the hearings in Dickson County, federal authorities announced additional charges against Wiggins during a media briefing alongside local law enforcement.

U.S. Attorney Don Cochran, who prosecutes federal cases in Middle Tennessee, called it an “almost unprecedented” show of combined force.

“We’re locking arms today and you’re seeing a solidarity and a show of what we believe in,” Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe said.

Cochran said he would personally handle Wiggins’ case in federal court and pledged to “seek the maximum punishment allowed by law.”

Wiggins’ slate of federal charges, including carjacking that results in death and using a gun in a case that results in death, could also carry the death penalty.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions seemed open to that possibility in a statement, saying “the Department of Justice will hold those responsible for (Baker’s) murder accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”

“Obviously, there is nothing we can do to bring Sgt. Baker back, and nothing we can say to alleviate the pain and suffering of his family and this community,” Cochran said. “We can however as prosecutors make sure that justice is served and that those who are responsible get what they deserve.”

Reach Adam Tamburin at 615-7265986 and atamburin@tennessean.com. Follow him on Twitter @tamburintweets.