HOUSTON COUNTY, Ga. — Georgia’s Supreme Court has overturned the conviction of an Alabama man accused of murdering a guard at a Warner Robins nightclub.
A majority of the judges say the prosecutors prejudiced the jury by playing a rap video featuring suspect Morgan Baker. They say the trial judge was wrong to allow them to play it.
Two years ago, a Houston County jury convicted Baker of shooting Tamarco Head in 2019. Head was killed during a fight outside Club Boss on North Davis Drive.
Baker worked for a rapper named No-Cap, who performed at the club that night. The video for the song “Ghetto Angels” showed Baker waving a semi-automatic pistol. A majority of the judges said the video wasn’t relevant to the shooting and may have swayed the jury.
Two judges disagreed saying the other evidence against Baker was strong. The decision sends Baker’s case back to Houston County for a possible retrial.
Additional background:
Baker, a road manager and long-time personal friend of NoCap – whose legal name is Kobe Crawford – was tried and convicted of murdering Tamarco Head, the security guard at the venue who prosecutors said would not let Baker re-enter the club after the show ended.
They say Baker went out the front door with the rest of the roughly 500-person crowd, but he wanted to leave with the rest of NoCap’s 10-person entourage through the back instead.
The prosecution argued Baker got mad at Head for not letting him back in, and they got into a confrontation. According to the prosecutor, Baker and another person would end up shooting and killing the security guard only three minutes later.
Not long after the shooting, Baker was released from NoCap’s entourage and as his road manager.
Back in 2022, a Houston County jury convicted Baker of malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault. But Baker's lawyers said that the use of the rap video may have tainted his conviction since it sent a prejudicial message to the jurors of the case.
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