Guilty: Jury Convicts Morales in Bar Shooting

A Monroe County jury has convicted Matthew Morales in the 2024 shooting death of Henry Koroma Jr. at a Middle Smithfield Township bar, rejecting his claim that he fired in self-defense.

Jurors began deliberating Wednesday afternoon (Sept. 30) and reached their verdict that evening. First Assistant District Attorney Michael Rakaczewski told the Pocono Record he was told of the verdict around 6 p.m. The Record reported it Thursday afternoon.

Morales, 33, of Tobyhanna Township, was found guilty of murder and two felony firearms charges: possessing a firearm while prohibited and carrying a firearm without a license. He shot Koroma once in the outdoor smoking area of My Place Bar & Grill on Milford Road on May 24, 2024, then fled the state before he was arrested in Utah.

The Case. During a trial that opened Sept. 22, jurors watched surveillance footage from three cameras at the bar, read texts between the two men, and heard Koroma's girlfriend testify that she overheard Morales threaten over FaceTime to stab him a month or two before the shooting. Morales took the stand Monday (Sept. 28) and told jurors he feared for his life after trying to leave a street gang called the Bloods. Under cross-examination by District Attorney Michael Mancuso, he agreed Koroma had no weapon in his hand when he was shot.

The Turn. On Tuesday (Sept. 29), co-defendant Raymond Batiste, 40, of Allentown, who had been on trial beside Morales for driving him away from the scene, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor obstruction charge and was sentenced to one year of probation. He then testified for the prosecution. Morales had told jurors he believed he'd been set up and was surrounded by six or seven people. Batiste said the only person he heard threaten Morales that night was Koroma himself, and that Koroma told Morales he was not going to shoot him.

What's Next. The Record did not report a sentencing date. We'll pass it along as soon as it's set.