Who is Dewight Baird from Connecticut? Rock Hill police say he killed an acquaintance

Police in Charlotte have arrested a man originally from Connecticut as the suspect in Sunday’s shooting death of an acquaintance at a Rock Hill apartment complex.

Dewight Sheldon Baird, 36, of Mancke Drive in Rock Hill, was arrested by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department officers late Tuesday morning, said Capt. Mark Bollinger of the Rock Hill Police Department.

Baird is being held at the Mecklenburg County jail on a fugitive warrant for Sunday’s killing of Terrence Williams. Williams, 32, was gunned down in apartment C at the Oaks at Little Dutchman Creek apartments.

Baird “is the shooter in this case” Bollinger said.

The shooting happened around 11:30 a.m. Sunday. The killing stunned neighbors shocked by the daytime gunfire.

Baird is accused of shooting Williams, then fleeing the apartment complex before ditching a vehicle at a nearby gas station in Rock Hill.

Bollinger and other officers declined to say what evidence led to Baird in Charlotte or to the shooting death of Williams. Bollinger and other officers confirmed Baird is from Connecticut, but had no details on why Baird was living in Rock Hill.

It is unclear what connections Baird has to Charlotte, Rock Hill or Williams. Baird was arrested in 2015 for illegal weapon possession in Connecticut, according to records.

Baird was convicted in 2009 for possession of drugs with intent to distribute, according to Connecticut court documents. He was sentenced to five years in prison then released on probation after pleading guilty, court records show.

He then was arrested in 2014 in Bridgeport, Ct. for a probation violation.

Baird has no criminal record in South Carolina, according to State Law Enforcement Division records. Baird also is not listed as having any criminal history with the North Carolina Department of Corrections.

Bollinger said there is no indication the shooting involved gang activity or other organized crime.

After Williams was killed and police identified Baird as a “person of interest,” police did say the men knew each other and the killing was not a random act of violence.

Baird will be held at the Mecklenburg County jail until he can be extradited back to South Carolina, where he will be charged with murder and possession of a weapon during a violent crime, Bollinger said.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Who is Dewight Baird from Connecticut? Rock Hill police say he killed an acquaintance."