A Richmond County jury found two men guilty of murder Friday in the 2020 double homicide and armed robbery of a barber and customer at an Eve Street barber shop.
The trial of Cortez Bernard Berry, 27, and Kazarie Middleton, 21, filled Judge Amanda Heath’s courtroom for nearly a week, with family members of the defendants as well as their victims.
The slayings two days before Thanksgiving of barber Meguel Freeman and Wyman Scott shocked Augusta’s Harrisburg community.
A third suspect also facing murder charges, Marquise Harris, is expected to plead guilty, Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams said.
“Meguel Freeman was 48 years of age. Wyman Scott was 34 years of age. They deserved better than the senseless violence that claimed their lives,” Williams said in a statement.
“Their families deserved better. Our community deserves better.”
The minimum sentence for murder is life in prison. Heath set sentencing for 9:30 a.m. May 31.
According to prior reporting, Middleton and Harris were 18 when the crimes took place, at Johnson’s Barber and Beauty Salon in the 700 block of Eve Street.
Berry was 24 and had spent six years in juvenile and adult facilities for a 2011 violent carjacking and armed robbery. He made headlines in 2015 when a photo went viral showing him beaten with a rope around his neck like a leash at a Forsyth prison.
Berry was also accidently released from Webster Detention Center in May 2022 and remained free for about a week before he was taken back into custody.
Since being jailed for the murders, Berry and Harris have been additionally charged with possessing shanks at Webster Detention Center.
The DA’s Major Crimes Division announced the verdicts. Berry and Middleton were found guilty on all nine counts in the indictment.
The case was tried by ADA Justin Mullis of the Special Victims Unit. He was assisted at trial by co-counsel ADA Dre’Kevius Huff. Support for the victims’ families was provided by Victim Advocate Shelly Blaisdell.
Daniel Leopard represented Middleton and Jesse Owen represented Berry.
