CHARLOTTE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The case against a man accused of shooting and killing a Dickson County sheriff's sergeant three years ago will move to its next phase on Monday.
Jury qualifications for the trial of Steven Wiggins start today in Dickson County. These questionnaires help attorneys put together a jury.
The trial is set to begin this month after Judge David Wolfe granted a continuance motion – which allowed for a delay in the trial – late last year.
The trial, which has already been rescheduled more than once, was set to take place in November of 2020. However, the defense had asked for more time so they could conduct psychological testing, which was delayed due to the pandemic.
WIGGINS ACCUSED OF KILLING DICKSON COUNTY SERGEANT
Wiggins is charged with first-degree murder and premeditated murder in the shooting death of Dickson County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Daniel Baker on May 30, 2018. He’s facing the death penalty in the case.
That morning, Baker responded to a call of a suspicious vehicle but dispatch lost contact with him. Officials used GPS to track his cruiser and found the vehicle about 2-3 miles from the initial call. Baker was found deceased inside the car.
At the time, TBI spokesperson Susan Niland said they used video surveillance and evidence to identify Wiggins as a suspect in the case.
In 2019, Gov. Bill Lee signed the Sgt. Daniel Baker Act into law, which speeds up a death penalty appeal, by doing away with the part of the appeals process that sends the case to the court of criminal appeals.
