Teen convicted in 2007 grocer killing

A Crescentville teenager was convicted of first-degree murder this afternoon in the 2007 robbery and shooting of an immigrant Chinese grocer.

The Philadelphia Common Pleas Court jury deliberated just two hours before returning the verdict against James Canady, 17, in the Aug. 9, 2007 death of Lu Jiaxing. The jury also convicted Canady of robbery, criminal conspiracy and possession of an instrument of crime.

Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart set sentencing for March 31. The conviction carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without chance of parole. The death penalty was not an issue in the case because Canady was a minor at the time of the crime.

Lu, 47, was shot and killed in his Lu Grocery at Colgate Street and East Cheltenham Avenue in Crescentville.

Defense attorney Lee Mandell said that no physical evidence - fingerprints, DNA, weapons - was introduced linking Canady to the robbery and murder.

But the jury was apparently convinced by the testimony of two key prosecution witnesses: Lu's daughter, Li Lu, 25, who was in the store at the time and told police Canady was the gunman because he had tried to rob the store the previous year; and Darrin White, 20, Canady's alleged accomplice who testified for the prosecution under a plea agreement.

White pleaded guilty Feb. 2 to third-degree murder and conspiracy and will be sentenced to 20 to 40 years in prison.