Kevin Baker, 23

Kevin Baker, 23, a black man, was shot multiple times in an apartment at 38002 N. 15th St. in Palmdale. His time of death was listed as 1:45 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 7.

Baker had been feuding with an acquaintance, Trabeon Long--also a 23-year-old black man. The feud dated back to an old quarrel over a woman, detectives said.

On this particular night, the feud escalated into a fistfight in the common area of an apartment building. Baker took a hard punch, and went inside. Long also retreated to his apartment. Shortly after, just passed midnight, Baker went looking for Long again, said Los Angeles County Sheriff's Lt. Dave Coleman. Baker knocked on Long's door. Long answered with a gun in his hand. He told Baker to go away. Baker remained. Long then shot him, Coleman said. Baker died shortly after. Prosecutors are weighing what, if any, charges will result.

Comments

[Tracee]

Oh my goodness!!! This is so tragic. My condolences go out to the family of Kevin Baker. Very sad that this young man had to die this young especially at the hands of one of friends. May God bless you and always look over your family for you are truly their guardian angel now. Do not be sad. The Lord was ready to call him home. Even though it is hard, try to be happy because now your loved one will not have to live in this terrible world any longer. Look to God, there you will find solace. You love him, but remember, God loves him best. With love, Tracee.

[Sad????]

Don't be sad? How about outraged????? Is that ok?

When will "the lord" get his fill? How many times does "the lord" have to call a disgustingly disproportionate amount of young black males "home"?

"The lord" has nothing to do with this unless you count letting it happen for no good reason.

Tracee, put a cal into "the lord" and see if you can get him to even things out a bit. I've tried, but I just get put on hold.

[Ken R]

In regards to both Sad???? & Tracee's comments......the Lord had "NOTHING" to do with this or any of these other murders.

The Lord is not a murderer, the word of God condems murder and those who murder.

This was the act of an "INDIVIDUAL" who decided to take this young mans life, the Lord was not there egging either one of these young men on.

From the sounds of this neither one of them knew when to stop and leave this alone, once the situation is over you don't go knocking on the door and asking trouble to come back out!!!!

This is yet another tragic example of what "WE" as "INDIVIDUAL" human beings have become, no self discipline, no self respect, no humanity & and no respect for our life or the lives of others.

DO NOT blame the Lord for this or any other of these senseless murders, believe me he is much more disgusted about this than any of us could ever be.

If you ask "Why doesn't the Lord stop this......because "WE ALL" have free will to choose the path our lives will take, God does not force His will on us to make us all robots. He loves us enough to allow us to live our lives the way we choose. Do we always make the right choices? Well you can answer that for yourself.

Please know one thing.......we will "ALL" stand before God and answer for our actions, that my friend is when we must "Pay The Piper"

[Altadena Native]

I am assuming when people mention Lord they are mentioning GOD nothing else. For God we belong and to God we shall return. God will snatch our soul in any matter he sees fit. So yes God did have something to do with this murder and all other deaths.

[Saranne]

Dear Sad ...

You do not need anyone's permission or approval to feel what you are feeling. It is extremely normal to be devastatingly sad ... and angry. These are emotions that we all experience when we lose a friend or loved one - be it with or without violence.

It is also extremely normal to - in your anger - want to blame someone. Unfortunately, God is normally the first person we direct anger toward when we lose a loved one.

As Ken said - God gave each and every one of us free will. He doesn't control our lives - rather, He waits for us to call upon Him for guidance on how to live.

Sad, I am not from L.A. As a matter of fact, I'm not even a resident of California. Since I am outside "the box" - I can see a different view from being smack dab in the middle of the violence. I read a comment earlier that said the violence is not so much gang related anymore as it is - race related. Very tragic in the year of 2007.

Not having a clue about your life or circumstances - I can only offer this: If you can get out of LA - GO! Get out of California! Find a small town in another state and re-learn how to live. If you have children - raise them where they do not have to see and hear of violence day in and day out. Let them experience (and you, too!) the goodness of being safe to play outside - where drugs and guns are not a part of the scenery.

About our God given "free will" - please Sad ... you do not HAVE to continue living with this fear and violence all around you. You, too, have the free will to change your life. Trust me ... you do! Within you burns a desire ... a desire for justice for Kevin's death. Let your heart guide you and know that God is ever present.

He will (if asked) give you more comfort than you can imagine. He will guide you in all that you need ... if you listen. This is where blind faith comes in ... if you will put your Trust in God the Father and Jesus the Son ... you will find peace, comfort and strenth.

I'm rooting for you! Remember - it's okay to feel what you are feeling!

[Kristen]

Charges my not even be filed?!... Awesome, the one murder they do solve, they do nothing about. What an incentive to just keep on doin' it!

[Where do we go from here]

this is a real wake up call for every one who knew kevin and had any connection wit him. this should show peple how life is so preciouse and can be takin from you in a blink of an eye. this is no joke and i think that the man who killed him should be chared and be in prison the rest of him life i mean come on now he took another humans life no matter what the reason is you should never take another persons life.
kevin was such a great person and he ment so much to me he was like everything he was a friend a brother a boyfriends., . . . . . even someone you can just go to if u needed a hug or someone to talk to. when i found this info out about kev it tore me up really bad and all i could say was why god????? why did you have to take him now it was too soon he was to young and he had a beautiful daughter that will never know what a great father she had. this man ment so much to so many people and when he got taken from us it was a big wake up call. to see a loved one just laying there in there death bed really tears a person up and to fnd out that charges may not be put on the man who did this to him no thats not fair and that hurts even more.
i know he is in a better place and i hope he is living a happier life since he doesnt have any pain to deal with any more. i know god is taking care of him up there and i really hope somthing is done about the man who did this to him and he doesnt just get let off free.

[lee]

Why did he go to that guys house and refuse to leave???????????
It's sad but it seems like he was looking for trouble but got more than he bargained for. A tragic loss for the daughter and family left behind to grieve. there probably wont be charges filed because it seem like it was self defense......

[Crystal Aveling]

My name is Crystal and I live in Portland, Or and I met Kevin in 1998. I cared for him more than anyone I ever cared for and today I found out that he was killed. I was so shocked at what I heard I couldn't believe it. I know the life he led and all of that, but to know him personally he was funny, talented and loved, it was unbelievable to find that out. I searched online for hours until I came across this with his picture. All I could do was cry. I feel so bad for his daughter and his family. My condolences to his mother, father, step mother, grandmother and all of his siblings and his daughter. He will be greatly missed.

[Informed]

This is very tragic but a person has a right to bear arms and protect his home. Kevin kicked in the door and entered Trabeon's home forcefully. He was carrying a weapon. Kevin's cousin is a witness to the facts. Anyone of us would have protected our family and home. If these two young men were white; it would be considered as self defense, but we are living in a society where black young men are considered as armed and dangerous. A armed black man does not have rights to protect himself or his family.

My prayer goes out to both families. Both Kevin and Trabeon were young men of character that was faced with a challenge that neither was able to endure no matter what the circumstance was surrounding the tradey that ended Kevin's earthly life and ruined Trabeon's life.

[THEREWASONLYONEGUNFOUND]

So anyway----you don't know what you are talking about. Who are you---let yourself be known.....Whoever you are talking about.....I know the story... and it is not the way you are making it out to be. There was only ONE gun found, and it was not Kevin's. So if you do not know what you are talking about, then I would prefer it if you would not leave a comment. Kevin was not shot inside of the house------he was shot at the top of the stairs (which is outside of the apartment). So do not talk because you do not know what you are saying. I am so disgusted with all of this bull%$#^@. Please get a freakin' life....because you sure need one. There is no way that you could ever call that self-defense. Trabeon had a gun and Kevin stood with only his fists. That is why he is in jail with a "No Bail". That is what he deserves. He needs to rot in jail for what he did to Kevin. So once again "Informed", get your freakin' story straight. Better yet, don't say anything because this blog is for people who care about Kevin, and frankly, you don't fit in that equation.

[shanae guy]

Iam kevin X-girlfriend and this is so devastating to me because kevin was my bestfriend even though we were in a relationship our friendship and unconditional love for eachother was so strong that nothing could get between us I know everything about kevin and i know god had a better plan for kev he was so talented and such a loving person you could never get enough of him. i think about him everyday and im so hurt but i know kev would tell me (be strong baby i made the choice and i was fully aware of everything i was doing) . I try to keep my head up and be as strong as i can be about this traggedy because he forever lives in my heart and will forever be with me. kevin was such a sweet person and yes we all know he was a tru gang banger and had a long rap sheet but he was human just like the rest of us yes he was mad that night and he went to dude door but that doesnt mean he had the right to take another humans life dude was still heated and he know he wanted kevin dead before he killed him he put it in his head that he was gonna kill kev if they got into it again and now he screamin selfdefence thats some bullshit "straight up" because kev did not have a gun when he was at the top of the stairs I know kev and i know that night he wanted to fight again but dude couldnt handle his like a man. the police claim their very theral on their investigations and if so they would know that this overall situation wasnt selfdefence and if dude felt him and his family was in danger why didnt he call police right away because he wanted to handle the situation in his own way and fuck everybody who got trabeon back on selfdefence kev lost his life so trabeon long should lose his. kev left behind so many love ones and most important his 1 yr old daughter and he loved his baby he always talked to me about her and our bond was so strong that he let me name her. to everyone who knew and loved kevin stay strong and keep your head up because thats what kev wants us all to do my heart goes to eveyone even all his females because kev was that one and only ( I Love You Kev and Its until death) ALL THE TIME BOO BOO

[Tragic]

This is truly sad. " The feud dated back to an old quarrel over a woman, detectives said." This man lost his life over a woman that neither he nor Mr. Long no longer associated with. What was the point? I will never understand why a man will fault the "other" man, when the woman was a willing participant playing both of them.

[sophie]

I think that the events leading up to that tragic moment are herendous, but I feel that there was no one there to stop the tragedy. Between Kevin's girlfriend and his so-call cousin they should have taken him home because he was drunk as usual. There are two loses in this situation and know one is winning. There is one person resting in peace and another person fighting for his life through an unjust justice system. Where were you when Kevin needed you to help him make the right decision. Where were you when Trabeon needed you to call the police. Keep in mind that Trabeon did not go to the strreets looking for Kevin he came to Trabeon's door not once but twice in the same night with a bunch of drama. Once again, if any one cared for Kevin or Trabeon this whole situation could have been prevented.

[sophie]

I have been following the case of the people vs. Long/LeFall very closely over the past nine months. If I remember correctly Long is the defendant who shot Baker once after pleading with Baker to leave his apartment in Palmdale. The reason I really find this case interesting is because there was a Supreme Court ruling on June 26, 2008 that reminded everyone of their constiutional right, which states, " that a man has a right to bear arms and he also has every right to protect his home. " I was wondering if the same constitutional right is applicable for Mr. Long being that he is a black man because if that right holds true for everyone then why is the District Attorney saying that this case is gang related. I am also thinking of a recent case in Texas whereby a neighbor shot two men that were breaking and entering his neighbors home, not his own home. However, because this was a white male he wasn't prosecuted at all and no one even mentioned gang affiliation. Here we are in 2008, and I don't feel that society has made much progress in the way of equality for human beings. I must admit that I am disappointed somewhat in our Justice System, but I am hopeful that they will stop using people of color as examples to boost their own professional egos.

[lil bryan]

Hi im Aysha Shanae's little sister Kevin was my best friend he was nice&sweet to me he was a loved one to all i feel for his family and friends.He should not have died so young God just felt like it was his time.I hope every one whom knew Kevin will stay strong!!!!!!!!!!! bye,lil bryan

[tay]

i love u kuzzn ... yu would never be forgoten