The men accused of killing the owner of a barbershop in San Diego two years ago were found guilty by a jury Thursday.
The jury's guilty verdict came down just before 2 p.m., in the trial of defendant Ian Guthrie, 40, charged in the ambush-retaliation murder of Lamar Canady, 32, a barber shot at his business on 54th and Redwood streets in Oak Park on May 9, 2014. Another defendant, Peter Johson, aka Dion Chambers, was also found guilty.
According to investigators, Canady suffered at least 16 gunshot wounds, including many to his head, when two suspects – Guthrie and Peter Johnson, 51 – entered his Official Cutz barbershop and riddled the business with bullets.
News of the shooting spread quickly in the community, causing uproar among residents. As police investigated, concerned residents flooded the streets in search of answers.
After the shooting, San Diego police released surveillance photos and a video to the public in hopes of tracking down the suspects. Guthrie was arrested in connection with Canady’s murder in late August 2014, along with Johnson.
According to investigators, one of the suspects was at a nearby liquor store just before the shooting. That suspect's DNA was found on a beer car and was later used to link the suspect to the crime.
Johnson was arrested in Kansas City, Mo., and later extradited to San Diego. He has been held at the Vista Detention Facility since September 2014 on $10 million bail on a first-degree murder charge. Guthrie, also charged with first-degree murder, has been at the South Bay Detention Facility on $5 million bail.
According to the victim’s aunt, Canady was well-known in the community, described as an “ambitious, smart, funny, witty” man. He left behind a wife and four children at the time of his shooting, including a newborn baby girl.
For the past two years, the victim’s mother, Lucy Canady, has sought justice for her son – a man she says just wanted to do good things for his community.
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“He was just trying to be somebody and get somewhere in life,” she said. “His dream was to get the barbershop – do things in life.”
Last April, Lucy went to a preliminary hearing for the suspects accused of killing her son and, when she came face-to-face with the men, the mother said she couldn't help but wonder why this all happened to her son.
“It’s something I really can’t explain. It’s just a hurt feeling,” she told NBC 7 at the time.
