The suspect implicated in an officer-involved shooting in the Whole Foods Market parking lot in Frisco last night has been identified as 33-year-old Derek Perry Baker of Loveland.
At about 7:30 p.m. on Monday officers with the Frisco Police Department and Colorado State Patrol responded to a disturbance in progress at the Whole Foods, according to an arrest affidavit. Dispatch told the officers that the man, later identified as Baker, told witnesses that he had a gun, and pretended to pull a gun near the cashier stations inside the store.
Hugh Carey, a photographer for the Summit Daily News, was inside the store with his girlfriend when the commotion began. Carey said that they witnessed Baker enter the store and throw an “air-punch” behind the back of an individual walking away from him. Carey said that Baker then walked to the cashier stations, and though he couldn’t hear what was being said, that’s when panic appeared to set in.
“In the cashier’s area people starting jumping, like jumping out of the way,” said Carey. “There were raised voices that I couldn’t understand, and one woman who was sitting a few tables from us ran out of the store, knocking over a chair. She said something about somebody with a gun in the store.”
It was at that point that Carey and his girlfriend left the store, and saw patrol vehicles arriving on scene. A store manager at the store said that he and his employees are not able to comment on the incident.
Once officers arrived on scene, witnesses directed them to a silver Chevrolet Impala in the parking lot. Officers yelled at Baker to stop, and he returned a profanity before driving off, according to the affidavit. Officers were able to box Baker in using their patrol vehicles, and exited their cars with weapons drawn due to report that Baker may have been armed.
According to the affidavit, Baker allegedly kept driving forward toward one of the officers, who fired two shots through the windshield. At that point Baker yelled that he was shot, and stopped his vehicle. Officers pulled him from the car and handcuffed him.
Baker was shot in the left forearm, and medical personnel arrived on scene shortly after to provide treatment. The report notes that Baker seemed “confused and unaware of his surroundings” following the shooting. He was transported to St. Anthony Summit Medical Center and later released into police custody.
Baker has been initially charged with three felonies, including attempted vehicular assault, menacing and vehicular eluding. He was also charged with disorderly conduct. District Attorney Bruce Brown noted that as details continue to emerge from the altercation, the charges could be modified in the coming days. The District Attorney’s Office typically has seven days to file charges, but Brown said they might ask for an extension.
“Because of the complexity of this case, the likelihood is there will be numerous interviews and forensic testing,” said Brown. “This type of incident takes several weeks to reach final conclusions. We’ll look at if from every possible perspective, and we will file charges in a fashion that reflects those determinations.”
Frisco Police Chief Tom Wickman said that he couldn’t comment in detail about an ongoing investigation, but said that the officer who discharged his or her firearm has been placed on leave pending the investigation by the Colorado Bureau of Investigation.
A CBI spokesperson said that investigations into officer-involved shootings typically involve a number of witness interviews and forensic examinations of the scene, a process that can take days or weeks.
Baker is scheduled to appear in Summit County Court on Jan. 22.