Sentencing for man found guilty in the death of Hamilton barber

It’s been nearly three years since Neil Harris was gunned down inside his own barber shop on the Hamilton Mountain.

On Monday, one of the people convicted in his murder spoke out about that February afternoon and how it’s changed his life forever.

Erick Reid was found guilty of manslaughter in the death of Neil Harris and could be sentenced to life in prison.

Standing in the prisoner’s box at John Sopinka courthouse, Reid begged for the judge to have mercy on his soul.

The 40-year-old barber was shot in the back as he tried to run away from his attackers on February 18, 2016. As Reid and Odain Gardner fled, Harris a father of two, was left to die on the street.

Reid said in a hand-written statement that he thinks about that afternoon daily. He says he takes full responsibility for his actions and deals with pain and regret every day. He admits that he got caught up with the wrong crowd. While in jail he says he’s constantly abused, even hospitalized at one point, by fellow inmates for his connection to the barber’s death.

The man who fired the gun, Odain Garnder, was found guilty of first degree murder in May. That verdict carries an automatic life sentence with no chance of parole for 25 years.

The judge’s sentence will be read out Tuesday morning at 11:30 a.m.