David Baker, a 60-year-old resident of Las Vegas, Nevada, met a tragic end on November 17, 2021, when he was shot and killed at the Siegel Suites, a residential complex located at 500 E. Bonanza Road in Las Vegas. The incident occurred in the late hours of the night, with police receiving a call at 11:48 p.m. regarding a man found on the ground who had been shot.
Upon arrival, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department discovered Baker's body in a third-floor apartment, where he had succumbed to gunshot wounds to the chest.
The investigation into Baker's death revealed that he had been involved in a quarrel with a neighbor prior to the shooting. This neighbor, identified as Derick McGruder, 36, was subsequently arrested in connection with the homicide. McGruder was taken into custody on the day following the shooting, after police found him hiding behind a nearby dumpster in the complex. Notably, McGruder had injuries to his hands and blood on his shoes, which further implicated him in the crime.
The motive behind the shooting, as detailed in the police report, was rooted in a personal dispute. McGruder had been in a fight with Baker over a belief that there was an intimate relationship between Baker and McGruder's fiancé. Although McGruder denied any involvement in Baker's murder during questioning, the evidence gathered by the police painted a different picture. Video surveillance from the complex showed a man wearing clothing similar to McGruder's entering the area of the complex dumpsters just one minute after the shooting. This led police to suspect that McGruder might have attempted to dispose of the murder weapon.
In a meticulous and labor-intensive effort, detectives from the Las Vegas police department sifted through the contents of six dumpsters from the complex, which had been transferred to Republic Services' Cheyenne Transfer Station. Their search was rewarded when they located a black Springfield XD 9 mm firearm, which matched the cartridge casings found at the crime scene. This discovery further solidified the case against McGruder.
Derick McGruder was arrested on suspicion of murder and was scheduled to appear in Las Vegas Justice Court for a status check following his arrest. The detailed investigation and the recovery of the suspected murder weapon from the dumpsters provided strong evidence linking McGruder to the crime, making him the primary suspect in David Baker's death.
