Conviction Vacated In Life Sentence For Deadly Pawtucket Cigar Bar Shooting

PROVIDENCE, RI — The Rhode Island Supreme Court vacated the conviction of a Providence man sentenced to life in prison for a deadly Pawtucket cigar bar shooting.

Trequan Baker, 33, was found guilty in December 2023 of second-degree murder, discharging a firearm while in the commission of a crime of violence resulting in death, possession of a firearm without a license, and conspiracy to carry a pistol without a license in connection with the killing of 36-year-old Qudus Kafo of Pawtucket.

"At trial, Baker did not contest the underlying facts that he was responsible for the shooting but rather insisted that his actions were justified because he acted in the defense of others, viz., his cousins," according to the supreme court opinion.

Related: Providence Man Gets Life Sentence For Fatally Shooting Pawtucket Man Outside A Cigar Bar

The night of the January 2022 killing, Baker was at home with a friend when he received a call from his cousin Derrick Baker, per the opinion.

"The conversation was terse: Derrick and another cousin, Koree Baker (Koree), were at a club known as the FabCity Cigar Lounge (FabCity) in Pawtucket, Rhode Island; there had been an altercation; and Derrick feared further trouble," the opinion said. "Baker perceived Derrick’s voice as sounding shaky and scared; thus, when the conversation ended, he promptly decided '[t]o go to FabCity [with Rose] and just check on everybody, make sure they [were] okay.'"

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Trequan Baker brought along an unlicensed Glock 22, sticking the gun in his waistband, as "FabCity was known as an establishment with a propensity for violence, and he 'wanted to have [the firearm] just in case,'" the opinion said.

Following a series of tense interactions between Kafo, Kafo's associates, Trequan Baker and his family members, those involved found themselves outside FabCity, according to the opinion.

"After several minutes milling outside, Baker and others were on the verge of peacefully departing," the opinon said, but Kafo then "assaulted Derrick, and one second later, Derrick retaliated and swung at Kafo."

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"Three seconds later, another Kafo colleague, Vaz, entered the fray, causing Derrick to tumble, face-first, into the ground," the opinion said. "As Baker watched, Vaz and Kafo hovered over Derrick, punching and kicking him in the head. Others immediately joined the fracas. Two seconds later, fearing for Derrick’s life, Baker shot Vaz, seriously injuring him. Seconds later, (Trquan Baker) testified, he witnessed Kafo lunging at a family member and motioning toward his waist. Believing that Kafo was about to shoot Derrick or Koree, Baker testified that 'out of instinct I just fired the second shot.' The bullet struck Kafo, inflicting a mortal wound."

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At his trial, a "prosecutor twice impermissibly inquired about his post-arrest decision to remain silent while in custody at the Pawtucket Police Department," the opinion said. "Further, the offending questions posed by the prosecutor endeavored to undermine the defendant’s credibility by suggesting that his testimony—that he acted in the defense of others — had been recently manufactured as evidenced by his previous silence.

The judge should have pulled the plug on the trial after the questions were asked, according to the supreme court.

"The trial justice’s endeavors notwithstanding, we conclude that the offending questions could not be cured through a limiting instruction and a mistrial was warranted," the opinion said.

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