2 convicted of murder in barbershop shooting

SAN DIEGO  — Two men accused of killing an Oak Park barbershop owner on the orders of a drug-trafficker bent on revenge are guilty of first-degree murder, according to verdicts announced in a San Diego courtroom Thursday.

Dion Chambers and Ian Patrick Guthrie were charged in the shooting of Lamar Canady, 32, who had recently opened his shop — called Official Cutz — when he was gunned down two years ago.

Prosecutors said Chambers, 51, fired the fatal shots while Guthrie, 40, acted as a driver and lookout.

The two defendants, both Jamaican citizens who were in the United States illegally at the time of the shooting, were tried together in front of two juries that deliberated the cases separately.

Guthrie’s jury announced it had reached a verdict Thursday morning, and it was read in open court the same afternoon. The panel in Chambers’ case announced it had reached a verdict Monday, but a Superior Court judge ordered that it remain sealed until the other jury had finished its work, and it was revealed in court Thursday as well.

Judge Charles Rogers asked the attorneys in the case to return to his courtroom next week to discuss additional matters related to Chambers and Guthrie, including some post-trial motions and a trial on their prior convictions.

The priors could increase penalties to 75 years to life in prison for Chambers, who is also known as Peter Johnson, and 50 years to life for Guthrie.

Deputy District Attorney Sophia Roach, the prosecutor in the case, argued during the four-week trial that the defendants were among a group of men who carried out a hit on Canady on May 9, 2014. The perpetrators could be seen in surveillance video scoping out the area before the shooting, waiting for the opportunity to strike, handing off the murder weapon and fleeing when the deed was done.

“Why this happened ultimately was revenge,” Roach said Thursday after the verdicts were read. “This was one man’s distorted quest for revenge; that is why this happened.

“There is no blame to be laid except for the murderers and the person who ordered this hit,” she said.

That person was referred to in court as a boss within the international drug-trafficking operation to which both Chambers and Guthrie were tied. In an interview with investigators after his arrest, Guthrie revealed that his was his boss who ordered the hit, according to prosecutors.

Roach said Thursday that the boss’ status is unknown, however there was some evidence presented in court that he may have died in Jamaica.

The prosecutor has said previously that the boss wanted Canady to be killed “for sleeping with his woman.” There was also testimony that the boss had been told Canady may have been responsible for a “significant” theft of marijuana.

Outside the courtroom, many of Canady’s family members — including his mother and his children, expressed gratitude to the prosecutor, investigators and the two juries for reaching decisions they described as “justice for Lamar.”

“I’m really happy,” said Audrey Brooks, the victim’s aunt. “A lot of mixed emotions obviously... We all have our different emotions, but overall God is good.”

She said she believes her nephew can now rest in peace. “We have what we need to move on,” she said.

The victim’s mother, Lucy Canady, cried in the courtroom as the verdicts were read. She said later that she wanted people to know that her son was a good person, and that he was lost too soon.

Melissa Hernandez, the mother of Lamar Canady’s children, acknowledged that her former fiance made mistakes in his past but had changed the direction of his life for the better before he was killed.

“When you change your life around for good, you do not deserve to die,” she said, adding that Canady would never have taken a life and was devoted to providing for his family.

He had five children. One of them, 12-year-old Lamar Canady Jr., said he would be there for his family and carry on his father’s name.

“I know my dad is not here in flesh, but I could tell that he’s standing right next to me right now,” he told reporters outside the courtroom. “I’m proud of that and I’m happy. I’m making my dad proud.”

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