Police seek second suspect in killing of Marshall-Shadeland barber
As the relatives of a Marshall-Shadeland barber killed in his shop struggled to cope with their loss this week, they thought, too, of the families of two men charged in his killing.
“These are young boys, and they haven’t even lived their lives,” said Darcel Madkins, who is a cousin of the victim’s wife.
Pittsburgh police Wednesday night charged two men with killing Lamar Thomas, 44, of Perry North inside the barber shop he opened two months ago near Stayton and Hodgkiss streets.
One of those men, Javahn Griffin, 22, of Crafton Heights, was arraigned Thursday and held without bail in the Allegheny County Jail. Police continued to search for the other, Keith Payne, 19, for whom a police spokeswoman said a warrant had been issued.
According to a criminal complaint supporting the charges against Mr. Griffin, a witness told police the pair asked where they could buy K2, a form of synthetic marijuana. The witness said Thomas, who went by the nickname “O,” sold K2 out of his barber shop.
The witness, Mr. Griffin and Mr. Payne went to the barber shop in a blue Chevrolet Trailblazer, according to surveillance footage. The witness went inside the shop to negotiate a price, and when he started to leave the two suspects walked in, police said.
The witness told officers Mr. Payne pulled out a pistol and pointed it at Thomas. The witness, who is not named in court documents, turned to leave and heard the “sound of a struggle,” then heard Mr. Griffin instruct the other man to shoot Thomas if he moved, according to the complaint.
A gunshot went off. The witness and both of the suspects left, police said.
Thomas’ family doesn’t believe he was selling K2. Court records show he had convictions in drug cases but none in the past 10 years, except for one in which a drug charge was replaced with a count of disorderly conduct.
“It doesn't sound like Lamar,” Ms. Madkins said. “When we heard that, it really hurt the family, because that’s not something that we even thought. We were just thinking young kids wanted some money and tried to take it.”
She said Thomas graduated from a local high school and then went on to get the licenses he needed to become a barber. He met his wife, Saberina Thomas, in 2010 and the couple married last year, joining their families, which combined included nine children.
Ms. Madkins said Thomas was “definitely a family man. ... He was always smiling, always upbeat. He was just a caring person.”
He frequently mentored young men who spent time outside his barber shop. He worked alone, Ms. Madkins said, and likely would have wrapped up with his last customer shortly before he was killed. His appointment book was full for the next two months.
His wife will close the shop, Ms. Madkins said.