CHARLOTTE, Tenn. (WTVF) — On the third day of Steven Wiggins' trial, jurors were shown Sgt. Daniel Baker's body camera video from the day investigators say he was killed by Wiggins.
Watch Day 3 of the trial below
Earlier in the morning, Wiggins’ friend, Bryan Hudnall, told the jury about a conversation they had prior to the deadly 2018 shooting.
Hudnall testified that he warned Wiggins about having a gun while in Dickson County. Then, he told the court that Wiggins said, “If anybody tries to arrest me, I’ll smoke their a**" -- which is pertinent because it's a death penalty case. The jury will have to decide if the shooting was premeditated.
Day 3 of the Steven Wiggins murder trial is underway… and right now a friend of Steven Wiggins is on the stand. He told Wiggins to be careful with his gun and reportedly Wiggins said ‘if anybody tries to arrest me I’m going to smoke their a**’
— Alexandra Koehn (@NC5_AKoehn) August 4, 2021
Jurors also saw the video from Sgt. Baker’s bodycam, which was recording the entire time -- from the traffic stop to when he was shot. The video was difficult to watch. Some people looked down and cried, while others had to leave the courtroom because they were overcome with emotion.
The bodycam video shows Sgt. Baker approaching the car, then trying to deescalate the situation as Wiggins says he can’t open the door. Moments later, a shot is fired from car. Baker starts running away and then collapses before the sound of more gunfire erupts.
In the bodycam video, Wiggins is allegedly heard talking over the police radio saying, "One in custody." That's why he’s also charged with impersonating a law enforcement officer, according to an agent who testified in court.
Happening now… they’re playing Steven Wiggins’ confession. In the video he says he’s sorry and is crying… then he goes onto say ‘get away from me, I’m a monster’ @nc5
— Alexandra Koehn (@NC5_AKoehn) August 4, 2021
In the afternoon, they played Steven Wiggins’ confession video. He said he pulled the trigger. He also told agents that he told the woman with him to ‘get away from me, I’m a monster.’ He also said 'it was like a dog, you don't let it suffer...'
At one point, he said he was sorry, and there was a lot of mumbling. While watching, Wiggins put his head in his hands at the trial.
While watching the confession video, there was a glitch. Some jurors may have heard something they weren't supposed to hear, and so the defense asked for a mistrial. Then, the judge came back out to say the trial could proceed and went to a recess to review the video to make sure the right sections were redacted.
After a dinner break, another person took the stand: Medical Examiner Doctor Feng Li. He went through the autopsy report of Sergeant Baker.
Because Wiggins faces the death penalty in the case, his attorneys are trying to prove the shooting was not premeditated.
