TBI: Steven Wiggins, suspect in deputy's killing, charged with first degree murder

DICKSON — After a nearly 48-hour manhunt that spanned the state and involved more than a dozen law enforcement agencies, the suspect in this week's killing of a Middle Tennessee sheriff's deputy was captured Friday less than two miles from where the search began.

Steven Wiggins, covered in mud and wearing torn jeans, surrendered to authorities without a fight on a remote roadside near the edge of woods in Hickman County. He was charged with first-degree murder. He is being held without bond.

Wiggins is accused of killing 32-year-old Dickson County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Daniel Baker, a former military man with a wife and young daughter, after the officer responded to a suspicious vehicle call Wednesday morning near Sam Vineyard and Tidwell Switch roads in Dickson.

Authorities haven't announced a possible motive in Baker's killing.

Tennessee Highway Patrol Lt. Colonel Dereck Stewart said that around 7:15 a.m. Friday, Trooper Kevin Burch was on patrol when he observed a man near the edge of the wood line along Stinson Road. When Burch got out of his patrol vehicle, Stewart said, he noticed tattoos on the man and that he fit Wiggins' overall description.

Burch quickly ordered Wiggins to the ground on the short, curvy roadway, and the suspect peacefully complied, authorities said.

"This is just a part of the process… but this is not closure for us," Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe told reporters following Wiggins' capture. "Closure will only come once we can honor and lay Sgt. Daniel Scott Baker to rest, and that we can see a prosecution begin."

Ray Crouch Jr., the District Attorney General for the 23rd Judicial District, announced Friday that the state will seek the death penalty for both Wiggins and Erika Castro-Miles.

'There are no words'

During a press conference Friday morning, Bledsoe read a statement prepared by Baker's wife, Lisa Baker.

"There are no words to describe the level of devastation that myself and family are dealing with," Bledsoe read, trying to hold back tears. "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."

Two large wreaths of navy blue, black and silver ribbons hung from the double doors of the Dickson County Sheriff's Office administrative building in Charlotte. They each had black bands, one with Sgt. Baker’s name and the other with “EOW 5-30-2018,” for the law enforcement code for “end of watch.”

Bleary-eyed deputies walked in and out of the sheriff’s building, some with their 13-hour search shift just ending.

“It’s one less person we have to be fearful of, but there are a lot of them out there,” said Sherry Mulbarger, 64, whose son is a deputy who served under Baker.

Two days of searching

Since Wednesday morning, local, state and federal authorities had been tirelessly searching for Wiggins, concentrating on a 3-mile radius around where Baker's vehicle was found in a wooded area off Bear Creek Valley Road in Dickson County.

Baker had been found dead inside the vehicle.

Wiggins, a felon with a violent criminal history spanning back more than a decade, was wanted on multiple warrants at the time of the shooting, including one for reportedly attacking Erika Castro-Miles at a motel in Kingston Springs and stealing her four-door Saturn the day before the shooting.

The fatal event began about 7 a.m. Wednesday, when a male resident reported seeing a suspicious vehicle.

“Everything escalated from there once (Baker) discovered that the vehicle was reported stolen," Bledsoe said Friday.

Bledsoe said the officer's vehicle ended up two miles away “by the suspect’s actions." Authorities have not released further details about the incident.

On Wednesday night, the TBI arrested 38-year-old Castro-Miles of Dickson on a first-degree murder charge in connection with Baker's death. The woman, who authorities say knew Wiggins, is being held without bond in the Dickson County jail.

According to court documents, Castro-Miles was with Wiggins in a vehicle when he shot Baker, and after the fatal shooting, she fled the scene and hid under a home.

After his capture Friday morning, Wiggins was transported to a hospital in Dickson, where he was treated for injuries, TBI spokeswoman Susan Niland said. She did not elaborate on the extent of his injuries.

"Sergeant Baker’s handcuffs... are on the suspect at this time, and he will be taken into the Dickson County jail with them," Bledsoe told reporters Friday morning.

The hospital released Wiggins on Friday night, where he went through the booking process at the Dickson County Jail. Authorities will then transport him to the Davidson County Maximum Correctional Center.

"They've been through enough as an agency," Davidson County Sheriff Daron Hall said. "We're doing this as a courtesy."

More: Authorities: Woman watched Steven Wiggins kill Dickson deputy; $46,000 reward for his capture

More: Sgt. Daniel Baker, deputy killed in Dickson County, was a 'hell of a friend,’ fishing buddy says

More: Timeline of events leading up to Steven Wiggins' manhunt

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Community outpouring

Businesses and public buildings throughout the county had their American flags at half-staff Friday. Employees at the small white-brick post office in Charlotte, the county seat, made two wreaths of artificial flowers for the sheriff’s department and Baker’s family.

“I’m just glad it’s over with,” said Gerald Caldwell, 49, who lives in north Dickson County. “It gives a whole bunch of people a lot of relief.”

Through the statement read by Bledsoe on Friday, Lisa Baker expressed her gratitude for everyone involved in the search for her husband's alleged killer.

"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," she said. "His service and dedication to his country and community will always be remembered."

Natalie Allison, Chris Gadd, Michael Reicher, Adam Tamburin and Emily West contributed to this report. Reach Natalie Neysa Alund at nalund@tennessean.com and follow her on Twitter @nataliealund.

Funeral arrangements for Sgt. Daniel Baker

All services will be held at First Baptist Church in Dickson.

The funeral will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday. Two visitation times have been scheduled, the first from 2 to 8 p.m. Monday, followed by a second visitation beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday until the service begins.

Baker, 32, will be buried at Dickson County Memorial Gardens.