MetroNews June 8th

SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — Law enforcement from across the country joined Nicholas County residents and others Wednesday in remembering the life of a Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department member.

The funeral for Deputy Tom Baker happened five days after he died while serving a warrant at a Birch River residence. Another member of the department, Cpl. Josh Ellison, was shot in the leg in the incident.

People filled the bleachers of the Summersville Armory and Conference Center as local sheriff’s deputies sat in front of Baker’s casket. Nicholas County Commissioner Garret Cole told MetroNews before the service that law enforcement from Texas, California, Florida and other states were among the people who came to pay their respects. Members of other West Virginia agencies also attended the service.
Deputy Tom Baker (Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department)

“As I took the office of sheriff, I knew there would be hard and trying days that lay ahead,” Sheriff William Nunley told attendees. “This is one of those days with the loss of one of Nicholas County’s finest, Deputy Thomas C. Baker III.”

Baker, 48, had two stints as a law enforcement officer; he took a seven-year break and held positions at a strip mine, insurance office, car dealership and bondsman office. He returned to the Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department to further explore his passion for law enforcement.

“When he came into my office and he talked to me about switching back to being a policeman, he says, ‘Pastor, a policeman is who I am. I am a policeman to the core,” said Pastor Allen Travis of Restoration Fellowship in Mt. Nebo.

“He loved all of you guys,” Travis told the deputies sitting before him. “He couldn’t wait to be part of the team again.”

Pastor Aaron Evans, Baker’s nephew, said he refuses to state the community “lost Tom” in the June 3 altercation.

“You only lose something that you don’t know where it’s at,” Evans said. “I can tell you right now, I know exactly where Tom Baker is at. Tom Baker was a proud, true Christian man. We didn’t lose Tom; Tom is in another place. Tom is in heaven right now.”

The Nicholas County Commission presented a proclamation recognizing Baker’s service in law enforcement. Senate Minority Leader Stephen Baldwin, D-Greenbrier, read a similar proclamation from the West Virginia Senate.

“On behalf of a very grateful state, we thank the family because we know he was not the only one who made sacrifices. You all did as well,” Baldwin said.

Nunley announced Baker’s posthumous promotion to sergeant during the service. Deputies also paid tribute to Baker with an “end of watch” call recognizing him for his time with the department.

Baker and Ellison were serving a warrant to Ryan Kelly and Ritchie Holcomb over a destruction of property complaint prior to the June 3  shooting. According to court documents, Kelly and Holcomb were initially cooperative before the discussion evolved into gunfire. Holcomb died in the altercation with law enforcement. Authorities arrested Kelley, who faces a first-degree murder charge.

Metro News June 7th

SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — More is being learned about the timeline which led to the shooting death of a Nicholas County sheriff’s deputy Friday night in the Birch River community.

A criminal complaint indicated Deputy Tom Baker and Corporal Josh Ellison of the Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department arrived at the home of Ritchie Holcomb, 36 and Tyler Kelly, 28, around 6 p.m. to serve a warrant over a destruction of property complaint. Initially, indications were the two men cooperated, but at some point the two retreated into the old RV where Kelly lived.

They were armed with an AR-15 rifle and 9 mm handgun, according to the complaint. Gunfire erupted around 7:34 p.m. Baker was struck in the back about 7:40 and a couple of moments later Ellison was hit in the leg. They reported to the 911 dispatch center they were pinned down in an exchange of gunfire.

Other officers started to arrive as the distress calls went over the radio.

“Sheriff Nunley was coaching a softball game for his daughter when he got the call,” said Nicholas County Commissioner Garrett Cole.

According to Cole, other law enforcement officers were unable to reach Deputy Baker for a half hour to 45 minutes as he lay bleeding with a gunshot wound to the back.

 

What kind of individual was Tom Baker, the Nicholas County sheriff deputy who was slain this past weekend? Garrett Cole, Nicholas County Commissioner, discusses Deputy Baker’s life to @HoppyKercheval. WATCH: https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/6XOrPkyHxN

— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) June 6, 2022

Cole was in the 911 dispatch center hearing the incident as it happened over the radio.

“Our Homeland Security director and others were talking to these guys to let us get to Deputy Baker and we would work it out,” he said.

It’s unclear exactly how long gunfire went on or how many law enforcement officers were involved. Nearby residents were evacuated as the situation unfolded and more officers arrived. It’s also unknown exactly how many shots were fired in the exchange, but the camper was riddled with bullet holes.

The incident ended around 8:00 to 8:30 p.m. when Kelly was taken into custody. Holcomb was discovered dead in the RV. He had been killed by gunfire in the fight.

According to Cole, Corporal Ellison managed to get into his cruiser and drive a half mile down the road with a wounded leg to the awaiting ambulance who transported him on to Summersville Regional Medical Center.

“For a while, we weren’t even sure which deputies were injured. In fact, somebody called and said Deputy Ellison was at Summersville Regional Medical Center, and we were wondering what else had happened,” Cole said.

Cole commended members of law enforcement and first responders who put aside emotions during the intensity of the situation and did their jobs.

“It blew my mind how effective they are in their role,” he said.

Funeral services for Baker are set for Wednesday evening in Summersville.

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MetroNews    June 5, 2022 - 12:28 am

SUMMERSVILLE, W.Va. — A Nicholas County man sat in his pickup truck in front of the Nicholas County Courthouse in Summersville as dusk took over the Saturday evening sky.

Some 26 hours earlier Nicholas County sheriff’s deputies Tom Baker and Cpl. J. Ellison encountered gunfire after arriving at a camper on Birch River following a call about a domestic disturbance.

Deputy Baker was shot in the back as he and Ellison retreated from the trailer after two men had opened fire. Baker died a short time later. Ellison suffered a gunshot wound to a leg.

State police are investigating the shooting. Nicholas County Sheriff Bill Nunley announced earlier Saturday that suspect Ritchie Holcomb, 36, had also been killed in the altercation with the deputies. Tyler Kelly, 28, the other man who was inside the camper, is now in jail charged with murder.

Just Respect 

The man in the pickup had driven into Summersville Saturday evening from another part of the county. He brought with him a bouquet of flowers. After sitting in his truck for several minutes—he got out and laid the flowers with some others at the foot of the courthouse steps beneath a blue and black American Flag with a thin blue line. The memorial for Deputy Baker had started to form earlier Saturday.

The man, who chose not to be identified, told MetroNews he felt compelled to come to the courthouse to honor the fallen deputy.

“I didn’t know him,” he said choking back tears. “It’s just respect.”

Not everyone stopped at the courthouse. Others stayed in their vehicles and slowed as they passed by the building—pausing to look at the memorial.

The storefronts and light poles in downtown Summersville are the home now of blue ribbons and wreaths in honor of the deputies. One of those wreaths read, “To Protect and Serve: Blue Lives Matter.”

Other reaction came in Saturday. U.S. Senator Joe Manchin issued a statement:

“Our first responders, those who are selflessly willing to put themselves in harm’s way to protect and serve our communities, are the backbone of our state and we will not forget their legacy and service to the Mountain State,” Manchin said.

The unidentified resident at the courthouse said he wouldn’t be surprised if illegal drugs were somehow involved.

“There’s just too much stuff easily gotten away with that I think could be stopped, that should be stopped,” the man said.

Tragedy times three

The Nicholas County Sheriff’s Department has been hit with death before, the latest very recently when new deputy Travis Lawson, 22, died in an off-duty motorcycle crash on May 10.

Nearly 22 years ago, September 2000, in the sheriff’s department building just a few feet away from the Baker memorial, Nicholas County Deputy William Giacomo was killed when a DUI suspect took out a gun hidden in his boot and shot and killed the deputy

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