DICKSON COUNTY, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – Authorities have announced federal charges against Steven J. Wiggins, 31, of Dickson, Tennessee following his indictment for the murder of Dickson County Sheriff’s Sergeant Daniel Baker.
Wiggins was charged in a criminal complaint Thursday afternoon with violations of four federal statutes, including carjacking, resulting in the death of Sergeant Baker.
The complaint alleges that on May 30, 2018, Sergeant Daniel Baker responded to a suspicious vehicle call in Dickson County, Tennessee. Upon arrival, Sergeant Baker encountered two individuals in a vehicle, later identified as Steven J. Wiggins, the driver, and Erika Castro-Miles, the front passenger. The vehicle had a flat tire and could not be driven. Sergeant Baker determined the vehicle was stolen had been stolen and told them to get out of the car.
Wiggins then claimed his door would not open and Sergeant Baker ordered him to exit from the passenger side. According to the body cam video recovered from Sergeant Baker, he then walked around the rear of the vehicle to the passenger side, at which time Wiggins initially fired approximately five rounds from a .45 caliber pistol. Sergeant Baker was struck by at least one of those rounds and attempted to take cover before collapsing several yards away.
While Sergeant Baker was lying wounded on the ground, Wiggins fired five additional rounds, the last three appearing to have been fired at close range. Initial autopsy findings showed that Sergeant Baker suffered six gunshot wounds: two to his torso; one to his hand; and three to the left side of his head.
The complaint also alleges that after shooting Sergeant Baker, Wiggins re-positioned Baker’s patrol car, dragged his body to the car, placed it in the rear seat, and drove away. Wiggins then drove the patrol vehicle three to four miles away and into a field near the intersection of Bear Creek Valley Road and Byrd Road, in Dickson County, where he set a fire inside the vehicle and left the scene.
The complaint further alleges that at the time Wiggins was captured by the Tennessee Highway Patrol on June 1, 2018, his backpack contained a .45 caliber pistol and a Glock pistol.
Officials determined that shell casings found at the scene where Sergeant Baker was shot matched the .45 caliber weapon and that the Glock recovered from Wiggins’ backpack had been previously purchased by Sergeant Baker’s wife.
The criminal complaint also charges Wiggins with using, carrying and discharging a firearm during the commission of a crime of violence; being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm; and using, carrying and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence, which resulted in the death of another person.
District Attorney General Ray Crouch announced that a grand jury in Dickson, Tennessee had returned indictments on Wednesday, charging Steven Wiggins and Erika Castro-Miles with the murder of Sergeant Daniel Baker. U.S. Attorney Don Cochran then announced the federal charges brought yesterday against Steven Wiggins.
The complaint alleges that Wiggins had previously been convicted of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, in December 2017 in Williamson County, Tennessee, and had previously been convicted of domestic violence in Dickson County, Tennessee, in 2009. Each of these convictions prohibits Wiggins from possessing a firearm.
If convicted of these federal charges, Wiggins faces up to life in prison and is eligible for the death penalty.