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CEDAR CITY — A former art lecturer at Southern Utah University pleaded guilty after threatening to shoot people on campus, in addition to threatening campus employees, a prosecutor, officers and Cedar City in general.
Steven Charles Baggs, 45, admitted last month to saying he "could kill 30 students at SUU" in a call to the university's human resources department on Dec. 12, 2022. He later said the students were innocent and he wouldn't kill them, court documents state.
Baggs had asked the school to give him a tenure track position and pay for him to get a doctorate degree, according to documents. He was apparently an "emergency hire" and his employment at SUU had been temporary.
He threatened to "push back like Rambo" if the school did not give him what he wanted, charges state.
Baggs ultimately pleaded guilty to threatening terrorism, a second-degree felony, and threatening violence, a class B misdemeanor. In another case, he pleaded guilty to threatening terrorism with intent to influence the prosecutor's office, a second-degree felony, and threatening a police officer, a class A misdemeanor.
He also pleaded guilty to purchasing, possessing or using a firearm as a restricted person, a third-degree felony, and violating a protective order, a class A misdemeanor, in a third case related to domestic violence.
Charging documents said Baggs claimed stress at the new job led to his domestic violence charges, blaming the school.
When asking prosecutors to drop his case, Baggs said he issued threats, asking that SUU strip the prosecutor in his domestic violence case of his SUU degree. When the university did not comply, he sent an email to the prosecutor's wife saying her husband "decided to endanger their entire family for pursuing a case of lies and that they will all die," according to Baggs' plea statement.
He admitted the threats were done to influence the Cedar City Attorney's Office.
Baggs admitted in the statement that he had texted his boss at SUU asking for positive references and to name a drawing lab after him, threatening to kill the man and his family if he did not. He also said he threatened other SUU employees.
He also threatened a specific officer at the Cedar City Police Department, saying the officer "is dead" and there are people looking for him and his family. His plea statement said he threatened multiple other public officials, as well.
Charging documents said Baggs also told police that "Cedar City just started a war with me. Haha you've see the first Rambo? Better hope I never come back."
His wife showed police text messages from Baggs that said he was going to "burn Cedar City to the ground."
Multiple charges were dismissed in all three cases due to a plea deal, including four counts of threatening to influence an official action, five counts of violating a protective order and two counts of assaulting a peace officer, all class A misdemeanors, in addition to criminal mischief, a third-degree felony, and threatening terrorism, a second-degree felony.
Baggs will be sentenced Nov. 6.
