Homeless Man Slain In Senseless Shooting

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Surveillance still of the murder of Carvell Baker.

Police say that 35-year-old Carvell Baker was a homeless man who often panhandled outside of a 7-Eleven convenience store in West Los Angeles. On April 21, 2007, Barker was at his usual post, yards away from the entrance to the market.

Surveillance video from that Saturday night shows many customers handing Carvell money. However, the incident that took place minutes before midnight had nothing to do with a robbery and still has detectives scratching their heads for a motive.

At around 11:40 p.m., an unknown assailant came from the rear of the 7-Eleven, went right up to where Carvell was standing, and shot him in the head.

The suspect fled on foot, but, when police pulled the surveillance footage from that evening, they saw that the killer had actually bought beer in the store an hour before.

Furthermore, he had a friend in tow.

Homeless Man's Slaying An Unsolved Mystery

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Murder victim Carvell Baker was shot to death outside a convenience store in West Los Angeles.

Stranger still, the gunman left the premises for about 45 to 50 minutes. Upon returning, surveillance footage recorded the unknown male pacing back and forth for a few minutes before he stepped around to the front of the market and killed Carvell Baker.

None of Carvell's money or personal items were taken after he was shot, but it did seem as though the shooting was deliberate and he was the intended target.

The reason why remains a mystery, and detectives have not spoken of a definitive motive.

Cops say that the suspect is a Hispanic male in his mid-thirties with a shaved head, mustache, 5'8" to 5'9" tall, and 185 to 200 lbs.