Murder of Veronica Baker
| Murder of Veronica Baker | |
|---|---|
 Victim Veronica Baker | |
| Location | Bojangles, 5497 Hwy 42 West, Garner, NC 27529, USA |
| Coordinates | 35°36′17″N 78°34′03″W / 35.604690°N 78.567520°W Fatal error: The format of the coordinate could not be determined. Parsing failed. |
| Date | August 15, 2020 |
Attack type | Murder |
| Victim | Veronica Baker, 17-year-old white female |
| Assailants |
|
Veronica Baker was a 17-year-old white female and recent high school graduate who was shot to death by a black male in a fast food restaurant parking lot. Her naked body was discovered by bystanders. Three black accomplices have been arrested as accessories to the murder.
Devin Cordell Jones | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criminal charge | Murder |
Keyshara Michelle Deans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criminal charge | Accessory after the fact to murder |
Nezyiha Zamir Collins | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criminal charge | Accessory after the fact to murder |
Tyreek Qumay Rodgers | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Criminal charge | Accessory after the fact to murder |
Incident[edit]
According to Law Enforcement Today,[1]
According to the U.S. Sun, Baker was shot to death inside her car. She graduated from Garner High School this past June, and was scheduled to start classes at Wake Community College in the fall, according to her father.
Police were called to the Bojangles fast food restaurant in Garner, located a short distance from Raleigh on Saturday, August 15th, on the report of an unresponsive person inside a car in the parking lot. Arriving officers found Baker inside the still running car, where she was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
This past Monday, Garner police released the 911 call reporting the incident, in which a man is heard saying that he sees a girl in a running vehicle who did not appear to be breathing.
The caller said:
"There’s a car with the doors wide open and there’s a girl who is unresponsive,
"It doesn’t look like she’s breathing."
The caller indicated that he had tried to shake the girl, however she was unresponsive.
Yet a second person on the call said that the car had been in the parking lot for a while, however they didn’t realize something was wrong.
The second person said:
"I went on lunch. I went on my break a few minutes ago, sir, and when I came back the door was open. I didn’t pay no attention,"
Wednesday, August 19th, police charged 17-year-old Devin Cordell Jones with murder in connection with Baker’s shooting. Police also arrested three other people in connection with the shooting.
Officials said that Keyshara Michelle Deans, 19, Nezyiha Zamier Collins, 19, and Tyreek Qumay Rodgers, 18, helped Jones in fleeing the crime scene.
All three have been charged with felony accessory to murder.
Court records said that Deans was the one who allegedly drove Jones away from the crime scene, while the other two suspects are accused of fleeing North Carolina with Jones after the murder.
Officials told CBS17 that the three accessories were all being held on bond; Collins and Rodgers on $500,000 secured bonds each, with Deans being held on a $1.015 million dollar bond. She was also facing charges dating back to June, which are not related to Baker’s killing.
Jones did not appear in court because he is a minor, police said.
Baker’s friends and neighbors described the teen as sweet and lovely, saying that she had her whole life ahead of her.
Baker’s father, Jim Baker said that his daughter knew the accused killer, speaking to the News & Observer.
In his interview, Baker said that he did not know the older suspects, however recognized Jones. He said that Jones and his daughter were friends, which is possibly why she allowed him in her car.
He believes that the motivation for the killing may have been robbery. Jones said that perhaps the fact that Baker and his family took trips together may have given rise to the belief that his daughter had a lot of money, her father said.
He continued that her daughter knew how to defend herself and may have actually fought back. Baker, a retired Marine, said that he had trained Veronica how to use a knife and pepper spray.
Baker noted how Veronica had loved to go camping.
Kendall Anne who is a family friend, said:
"Almost every weekend we would go camping at my parents’ lake property in Bunn,"
She continued:
"She was always so happy. So, kind. She was never selfish,"
Finally saying:
"She worried about everyone she cared about. She would literally give you the shirt off her back."
Jim Baker said that Veronica worked part-time at Harris Teeter, as well as in his RV repair business. She had learned to estimate the cost of a camper or an RV just by looking at one, he said. She had picked out her father’s most recent RV purchase.
Camping was an activity they enjoyed together as a family, and Baker said that going camping going forward would be difficult, as his wife wants him to sell the camper.
He said:
"My wife said yesterday that she never wanted to go camping again."
911 call[edit]
Victim[edit]
A GoFundMe has been set up to help pay for Baker's funeral expenses.[2] As of September 2 2020, it had raised $11,757.
