Public’s help sought in finding suspect in deputy’s…

Authorities appealed for the public’s help Thursday in finding a man suspected in the fatal shooting of a Tennessee sheriff’s deputy. 

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released new photographs of the man accused of killing Dickson County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Daniel Baker during a traffic stop.

Baker’s body was found Wednesday in a wooded area in Dickson County. 

The man they said they’re looking for, Steven Wiggins, has a lengthy arrest record and was charged just the day before with hitting a woman and stealing her car.

Authorities appealed for the public’s help Thursday in finding a man suspected in the fatal shooting of a Tennessee sheriff’s deputy

The man they said they're looking for, Steven Wiggins (above), has a lengthy arrest record and was charged just the day before with hitting a woman and stealing her car

The man they said they’re looking for, Steven Wiggins (above), has a lengthy arrest record and was charged just the day before with hitting a woman and stealing her car

Rewards totaling $46,000 have been offered for information leading to the arrest of Wiggins, 31, a white male with balding brown hair

Rewards totaling $46,000 have been offered for information leading to the arrest of Wiggins, 31, a white male with balding brown hair

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released new photographs of the man accused of killing Dickson County Sheriff's Deputy Sgt. Daniel Baker during a traffic stop

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation released new photographs of the man accused of killing Dickson County Sheriff’s Deputy Sgt. Daniel Baker during a traffic stop

That woman was in the car with the suspect when he pulled the trigger and she is now jailed on a murder charge in the death of Baker, according to court documents.

The deputy’s body was found in his patrol car in a wooded area several miles from where he had stopped a suspicious car on Wednesday.

Rewards totaling $46,000 have been offered for information leading to the arrest of Wiggins, 31, a white male with balding brown hair.

Officials said they believe he is armed and dangerous.

‘It’s very imperative for everyone to keep their eyes, their ears open for this individual,’ TBI spokeswoman Susan Niland said at a news conference Thursday. 

‘He could be in Dickson County. He could be in a neighboring county. But the fact is, we don’t know where he is.’

Erika Castro-Miles, 38, (pictured) was said to have participated in the altercation that led to the eventual killing of 32-year-old Sgt. Daniel Baker as Dickson County Sheriff's office shares they are still looking for Steve Wiggins

Authorities with the Dickson County Sheriff's office are searching for Steven Wiggins in connection to the death of 32-year-old Sgt. Daniel Baker (pictured)

Erika Castro-Miles, 38, (left) was said to have participated in the altercation that led to the eventual killing of Baker as Dickson County Sheriff’s office shares they are still looking for Wiggins (right)

Federal, state and local authorities have joined the search. 

They are checking into hundreds of tips, though authorities said there have been no confirmed sightings as of Thursday evening. 

Wiggins was last seen wearing blue jeans and a black polo shirt, but could have changed his outfit, Niland said. 

Still, Dickson County Sheriff Jeff Bledsoe said he believes Wiggins might be on foot in the area.

‘At this point, we’re going to work with all our agencies and all of our partners, and there will be no rest until he’s taken into custody,’ Bledsoe said at the news conference.

Baker couldn’t be contacted for some time after responding to a call about a suspicious car Wednesday, Niland said. 

The deputy’s car was tracked by GPS to a wooded area about 2 miles away, and Baker was found dead inside the vehicle.

Wiggins was identified as the suspect from a video recording, and the sheriff said he is even more heartbroken over what Baker endured after watching the ‘disturbing’ footage. 

Baker was eventually found dead inside his patrol car two to three miles away from the scene. His GPS system was used to find his location after contact with Baker ceased

Baker was eventually found dead inside his patrol car two to three miles away from the scene. His GPS system was used to find his location after contact with Baker ceased

Bledsoe declined to discuss specifics, citing the ongoing investigation.

Wiggins was already wanted on charges that he assaulted the woman and stole her car when he was pulled over, according to a report from the Kingston Springs Police Department.

The woman, Erika Castro-Miles, 38, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder after investigators realized that she had participated in Baker’s death, the TBI said.

According to the police report, Castro-Miles said early Tuesday that Wiggins had slapped her in the face and pulled out some of her hair, then put a gun to her head and threatened to kill her if she called police. 

She said he then grabbed her keys and took her car without her permission. 

She told police then that Wiggins had been ‘doing meth all night and smoking marijuana.’ She told police she planned to press charges, the report said.

According to local news reports, an affidavit filed in Dickson County court says Castro-Miles was sitting in the car with Wiggins when he shot and killed the deputy.

The deputy's family identified him as a father and husband who served in the Marines

The deputy's family identified him as a father and husband who served in the Marines

The deputy’s family identified him as a father and husband who served in the Marines

The husband and father of one joined the department in 2008 and came from a family of officers

The husband and father of one joined the department in 2008 and came from a family of officers

She fled the shooting scene Wednesday and hid under a house, the affidavit says.

Castro-Miles is being detained at the Dickson County Jail. 

It is not immediately known if she has an attorney.

As for Wiggins, the sheriff said he must be held accountable, facing the maximum penalty the law will allow.

The sheriff said Baker, 32, was one of the department’s best, a supervisor who had worked his way up to sergeant on patrol during his 10-year stint with the office. 

He is survived by his wife and daughter.

Bledsoe said his agency has lost a brother, and the community has lost a hero.

‘Our heart’s shattered with this,’ he said. 



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