Man Gets Death Sentence in Tire Store Killings
A 29-year-old gang member was sentenced to death Friday for the execution-style murders of three people at a South-Central tire store in 1992 and given life without the possibility of parole for wounding a fourth person.
Lamar Barnwell was convicted of murdering Eural Johnson, Kenneth Newman and Sandra Green and critically wounding Jesse Dwight Newman at Williams Tire Service, an all-night store near Century Boulevard and San Pedro Street on Dec. 5, 1992, officials in the district attorney’s office said.
Officers patrolling the area heard gunfire and rushed to the scene, officials said. When they looked through a hole in a fence, they saw Barnwell shooting two men in the head as they were lying on the ground, police said.
Police chased and shot Barnwell, critically wounding him, officials said.
“We had hoped for a better outcome,” said Barnwell’s attorney, Franklin Peters Jr. “It is our view that he didn’t commit the crimes at all.”
Barnwell is waiting to be transferred to San Quentin state prison, Peters said.
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