Man pleads guilty in killing of two Guthrie teachers; sentenced to 20 years

Inside a Payne County courtroom, Rocky Steven Baca entered pleas of guilty on Monday morning in the deaths of Jennifer Lea Briggs and Heather Marie Wilson. Briggs and Wilson were killed on State Highway 33, west of Redlands Rd., on October 27, 2014, while on their way to work as teachers at Guthrie Junior High School. Baca crossed the center line and drove completely into their lane of traffic resulting in a head on collision. The two women died at the scene.

Laboratory tests confirmed that Baca was under the influence of synthetic marijuana at the time he caused the deaths of Briggs and Wilson.

Baca was charged with two counts of first-degree manslaughter in January, 2015. Upon his plea of guilty to each manslaughter count he was sentenced by Judge Philip Corley to 20 years in the Department of Corrections with the first 12 to be served in custody and the last 8 to be served on probation and must pay restitution to the victims’ families in the amount of $31,782.96. Also at the request of the victims’ families Baca was ordered to pay $20.00 per month to the Guthrie Junior High School for teacher classroom assistance during the duration of the suspended portion of his sentence. In addition, Baca was ordered to complete drug/alcohol evaluations and treatment and submit to random drug testing upon his release from the penitentiary.

As part of the Defendant’s statement under oath, he provided information detailing where he purchased the synthetic marijuana, how often he purchased the substance from that retailer and how often he smoked it. Laura Austin Thomas, District Attorney, stated, “This kind of detailed and specific statement from the Defendant is uncommon and was negotiated as part of the plea bargain in order to assist one of the victim’s families in a civil lawsuit against the provider of the synthetic marijuana. Had the Defendant not agreed to make this sworn statement, the chances of their future lawsuit being successful would be greatly diminished.”

The district attorney’s office introduced victim impact statements from the families of both victims which detailed the utter devastation their sisters, brothers, parents, grandparents and other family members have endured because of the acts of Baca.

Austin Thomas further stated, “First-degree manslaughter is an 85 percent crime which means the defendant will have to serve at least 10.2 years of incarceration before the parole board could even hear a parole request.”

Thomas went on to say there is no such thing as personal use of a drug.

“This personal use resulted in the senseless loss of two young women just beginning their lives and careers as teachers. It was a selfish act that is becoming more common as drug users choose to drive under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, synthetic marijuana, methamphetamine and other drugs, including prescription drugs, as if it impacts only them. It impacts dozens of people every time a crime like this occurs.”