Murderer swears at judge, removed from courtroom at sentencing
Jan 21, 2025
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- Convicted murderer Tyequez Baker erupted at a Superior Court judge Tuesday morning, yelling obscenities and saying, "I can't wait to get out of this jurisdiction," as a deputy removed him from the courtroom.
Judge John Oglesby was unfazed. He proceeded to sentence Baker to 80 years to life in prison for a random shooting in 2020 that killed a man sleeping in a car parked at Beale Park.
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Baker, 25, didn't know Glenn Earl Henderson Jr., 26. The two hadn't argued or otherwise been in an altercation before Baker approached and killed him.
Baker simply desired to commit a murder, Oglesby said Tuesday.
A jury last year found him guilty of first-degree murder, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle and possession of a gun and ammunition by a felon.
Witnesses, Ring doorbell footage and DNA evidence on the weapon pointed to Baker as the shooter. The murder weapon was found disassembled in the bathroom of his apartment.
Tyequez Baker, file image.
On the morning of the killing -- Sept. 14, 2020 -- Ring footage captured him leaving the apartment wearing a mask and a hooded sweatshirt. He returned without either item.
Defense lawyer Phillip Gillet argued at trial that a witness described the shooter as Hispanic. Baker is Black.
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Additionally, Gillet said, the DNA of both Baker and his roommate — who is Hispanic — were found on the gun. The roommate was not charged, and the jury was not persuaded.
The murder was "well-planned and executed," Oglesby said at the close of Tuesday's hearing. He noted Baker used someone else's car, took an "evasive route" and would have remained unidentified if it hadn't been for surveillance video.
In fact, the judge pointed out only one mistake, albeit a critical one: Baker hung on to the murder weapon.