Omar Baker was a funny and caring man, remembered by those who knew him as a good friend. On February 7, 2022, the 40-year-old Black man’s life was cut short in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He was found fatally shot near the intersection of Charles Thigpen Drive and Doc Bennett Road.
Detectives with the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office Homicide Unit launched an investigation into the killing.
By November of that year, they had identified two men responsible for Baker's death: David Ray Bowman, 31, of Fayetteville, and Michael Schlegler, 37, of Charlotte. Both men were charged with first-degree murder.
At the time the charges were announced, Schlegler was already in the custody of the Sampson Correctional Institution on unrelated matters. Bowman, however, was not in custody, and authorities asked for the public’s help in locating him. Investigators successfully apprehended Bowman in September 2023.
The case against both men concluded in April 2025. Both David Ray Bowman and Michael Schlegler pleaded guilty for their roles in the murder of Omar Baker.
