Alabama man pleads guilty in Warner Robins security guards’ death
Warner Robins Ga. March 12, 2025
On the day his case was set to head to trial, Alabama man Morgan Baker reached a deal with prosecutors Monday that would send him back to prison for a 2019 Warner Robins shooting but still give him a chance at freedom.
Baker — whose 2022 conviction was tossed out by the Georgia Supreme Court due to a prejudicial rap video — was accused in the fatal shooting of security guard Tamarco Head outside the now-defunct nightclub Club Boss.
The shooting happened outside a concert held by Baker’s childhood friend, rapper Kobe Crawford, professionally known as NoCap.
But on the day the case was set to go to trial, prosecutors and Baker managed to ink a deal to a lesser charge: voluntary manslaughter. Judge Katherine Lumsden sentenced Baker to 20 years, but only 15 years in a Georgia prison.
With his previous time incarcerated, Baker received just over 4 years for time served, which means Baker will have to serve just under 11 years in prison. If he was convicted of murder, Baker would risk serving up to life in prison.
Alabama man’s second trial set to begin in 2019 Warner Robins nightclub shooting after conviction overturned
Ahead of court, the prosecutor argued Baker got into a fight with security guards who refused to let him back into the club to exit with NoCap’s entourage. He got into a fight with security guards and, moments later, prosecutors said he and another man opened fire.
The other man was never identified.
Baker said he was in NoCap’s van when the shots were fired. Witness statements, according to the Georgia Supreme Court, were also inconsistent and contradictory.
Baker was convicted in 2022 but, on appeal, the Georgia Supreme Court found that prosecutors used a 33-second rap video improperly. They argue that prosecutors used the Ghetto Angels music video, which showed Baker waving a gun, to make the argument that Baker was a violent person.
Baker’s attorney’s pointed to the prosecutors’ closing arguments, where they said, “Go back to that Ghetto Angels video. Right? That’s all they know, the gun violence. They want to promote it. They want to live by the sword, but they don’t want to die by it, right? When it is not convenient.”
The defense also says that the video was actually a sad song about losing a loved one to gun violence. Baker, on the stand, said they waved guns in music videos to act cool.
But attorneys for Baker argued the video — and the way prosecutors used it — unfairly tilted the scales against Baker. The Georgia Supreme Court agreed.
Because the evidence against Baker was not overwhelming, the Supreme Court ruled, the justices couldn’t find that playing the rap video in court was not “harmless” and did not impact the outcome.
That, the justices found, was enough to overturn his conviction.
Once released from prison, Baker must follow the terms of his probation. But the court also allowed Baker to return to his native Alabama when his prison sentence ends.
