MCKINNEY, Texas — The full Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Wednesday declined to re-hear the case of a McKinney woman seeking compensation after a SWAT team "destroyed" her home while pursuing a wanted man in 2020.
The Institute for Justice, which is representing Vicki Baker in the case, says Baker will file a petition asking the Supreme Court to hear the case.
“The decision not to rehear Vicki’s case is certainly disappointing, but the fact that some judges dissented provides a platform to continue fighting for her constitutional rights,” said IJ Attorney Jeff Redfern. “The Fifth Amendment requires the government to provide just compensation when it destroys private property for a public purpose, as the SWAT team did when it destroyed Vicki’s home to get a fugitive off the streets.”
In Wednesday’s decision, 11 judges denied Vicki’s attempt to have her case reheard, while six judges voted in favor of rehearing her case, according to a press release.
Baker's case began in July 2020, after a fugitive with a hostage broke into her home and barricaded himself inside, while she was not home.
As WFAA reported at the time, Baker was in her new Montana home while a relative remained at her home off Vista Verde Trail on July 25, 2020, the day a contractor and handyman Baker knew fled inside her home to take refuge after kidnapping a 15-year-old girl. The McKinney home was on the market at the time and its sale was on the verge of being finalized.
Baker’s relative called 911 and escaped while the armed man, identified as Wesley Little, remained in the home. McKinney police surrounded the home and negotiated with Little, who complied but wouldn’t surrender. SWAT made its way inside.
"The damage to the home was extensive," Baker told WFAA at the time. "They used around 30 tear gas canisters. They used a small bomb on my garage door and blew that off."
Baker said the home sustained about $60,000 worth of damage.
Her insurance company and the city declined to cover the damage, so in March 2021, she sued. In April 2022 she won a partial summary judgment at the district court level and, in June 2022, a federal jury ruled she was entitled to nearly $60,000 in damages. But, after the city appealed that decision, in October 2023 a panel of the 5th Circuit reversed the lower court’s decision.
“I’m prepared to fight as long as it takes,” said Baker. “This case is bigger than me. It’s about ensuring all innocent people who have their property destroyed by the government have a way to be compensated.”
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