Man pleads guilty to murder in shooting at senior living community in Baltimore

A man with a prior murder conviction will serve up to 25 years in prison for a double shooting that killed a fellow resident at a senior living community in Baltimore and caused nearby schools to go into lockdown.

Norman Waker pleaded guilty on Tuesday in Baltimore Circuit Court to second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder and use of a handgun during the commission of a crime of violence for killing Clyde Barnes, 79, and wounding Vance Winston Bey, 73, at Pleasant View Gardens Senior on North Central Avenue on Feb. 20, 2025.

Circuit Judge Jeannie J. Hong accepted a plea agreement and sentenced Waker, 67, of Pleasant View Gardens, to serve 60 years in prison, with 35 years suspended, and five years’ supervised probation. He will not be eligible for parole during the first 10 years of his sentence.

“I’d like to apologize to Mr. Clyde’s family for what has happened,” Waker said. “I’m not a bad person.”

The shooting caused the nearby National Academy Foundation and Paul Laurence Dunbar High School to go into lockdown. Baltimore Police shut down roads as SWAT swept the senior living community.

Waker stood trial in 2025, but the jury could not reach a unanimous verdict after about 5 1/2 hours of deliberations.

Assistant State’s Attorney Victoria Yeager said she offered the plea agreement because of the mistrial and described the outcome as a compromise.

A victim advocate later read a statement on behalf of Barnes’ daughter, Zelda Johnson, who described him as an outgoing man with a heart of gold. “My father’s life was taken before his time,” she said.

At his trial, Waker testified that he went to buy $80 worth of cigarettes from Barnes, whom he met about 20 years ago in jail. But Barnes claimed he owned him money, Waker said.

Barnes, he asserted, pointed a gun at him. Waker alleged he wrestled away the weapon, which went off during the tussle.

But other witnesses contradicted his testimony.

During a police interrogation, Waker denied entering the apartment and firing a gun, which investigators never recovered. He also told detectives that he did not act in self-defense.

Waker was previously convicted in 1983 of second-degree murder and use of a handgun during the commission of a crime of violence, though no further details were discussed in court.

“Suffice it to say,” said Matthew Connell, Waker’s attorney, “there’s some dispute over the factual narrative.”

Waker, he said, is “not well, medically.”

Correctional officers escorted Waker into the courtroom in a wheelchair.

Doctors amputated his left leg after it became infected. He also suffers from cirrhosis and takes a variety of medications, Connell said.

Though Connell said he hopes it’s not the case, the punishment effectively could be a life sentence.