RALEIGH, N.C. (Court TV) — A North Carolina jury is deliberating the fate of a convenience store owner charged with murdering a customer.
Taiseer Zarka appears in court Dec. 10, 2024 ahead of his trial. (Court TV)
Taiseer “Taz” Zarka is charged with the second-degree murder of Mark Thomas Garrity Jr., who was stabbed to death outside of Zarka’s store in Raleigh in April 2023.
A store employee told WNCN that Zarka had accused Garrity of stealing a Gatorade, which the victim denied.
A medical examiner’s report reviewed by Court TV alleges that after arguing, Zarka pulled out a folding pocketknife and stabbed Garrity three times. One of those wounds penetrated the victim’s heart. Garrity was able to get out of the front door before collapsing on the sidewalk. A bystander attempted CPR, but Garrity was pronounced dead at the hospital hours later.
Prosecutors have indicated they plan to show jurors surveillance video from inside the store that shows the attack, as well as Garrity appearing to steal the items. An unopened drink was found in Garrity’s bag.
Zarka, through his attorney, has said that he was acting in self-defense, WRAL reported.
According to The News & Observer, Garrity had a criminal record and had previously pleaded guilty to felony breaking and entering.
DAILY TRIAL UPDATES
DAY 4 – 12/16/24
- Zarka spent the morning on the stand as the last witness in the defense’s case.
- Zarka testified on direct he did not intend to injure or kill victim and suspected shoplifter Mark Garrity; he was trying to detain Garrity until police arrived and search his duffel bag for stolen drinks and a possible weapon.
- Zarka said he drew his knife on Garrity in response to Garrity’s “aggressive” reaction to Zarka’s demand that he turn over his bag.
- Zarka said a customer speculated Garrity may be “carrying” a weapon; when he allegedly asked Garrity if he had a weapon, Zarka said Garrity told him he’d stick his pistol up his ass.
- Zarka narrated portions of store surveillance footage frame by frame, focusing on moments that he said showed Garrity pushing and grabbing Zarka’s neck and hands as a knife-wielding Zarka tried to wrestle Garrity’s bag from him.
- On cross, prosecutor Patrick Latour pressed Zarka on why he didn’t say anything to police about Garrity’s pistol comment, who pulled a weapon whom first, why Zarka didn’t call police and why he didn’t check on Garrity as he lay bleeding to death outside the store.
- The state did not put on rebuttal evidence.
- Both sides delivered closing arguments.
- Defense lawyer Karl Knudsen said Zarka was acting under the authority of a state law that allows merchants and private citizens to detain people they suspect of a crime.
- Prosecutor Latour said the evidence showed Zarka acted maliciously and not in self-defense, fatally wounding Garrity because he would not “submit” to Zarka’s demands and Zarka “couldn’t stand the disrespect.”
- Outside the jury’s presence, Judge Gregory ruled against the defense on two key points:
- He won’t let the defendant testify that a customer remarked offhandedly that Garrity “may be carrying” a weapon.
- He won’t let the defendant testify about his understanding of what he’s legally entitled to do as a merchant when it comes detaining a suspected shoplifter.
DAY 3 – 12/13/24
- The defendant’s testimony got off to a slow start as the prosecutor objected to Zarka testifying about how he suffered a dislocated arm after being detained in Kuwait for helping foreigners – including Americans — evacuate from the country during the 1990 Iraqi invasion, leading to arguments outside the jury’s presence that included an offer proffered testimony from Zarka.
- Defense lawyer Knudsen said the testimony’s purpose was to establish Zarka’s “credibility” as a “good man” whose conduct the day he stabbed Garrity was shaped by his life experiences.
- Prosecutor Latour argued Zarka was trying to “ingratiate” himself to the jury for “sympathy” rather than prove any issues relevant to the case.
- Zarka told the jury about his life’s journey from the Gaza Strip to Kuwait to America for college then back to Kuwait then back to America where he opened his convenience store in Raleigh in 1999/2000.
- Zarka was starting to talk about his experiences with shoplifters at his store when Judge Kennedy interrupted to end court for the day out of concerns for defense lawyer’s Karl Knudsen’s coughing.
- Zarka testified he has prostate and bladder cancer for which he receives chemotherapy treatments. He had treatment before he went to work the day he stabbed Garrity.
- Zarka took the stand after the STATE RESTED and the jury visited the convenience store Friday afternoon.
- The State rested after both sides finished questioning the lead case investigator, Det. Eric Heflin.
- Before Zarka, the defense called five witnesses to testify to Zarka’s character and reputation for peacefulness and being a law-abiding citizen.
- Two Raleigh police officers who had frequent – almost daily — interactions with Zarka as a business owner:
- Both witnesses said they visited Taz’s Market “hundreds” of times over the years for calls ranging from shoplifting to assault.
- Officer Timothy Rosa called Zarka an “outstanding citizen” who was respected by community members and cooperative with law enforcement, often providing store security footage for investigations unrelated to him or his store.
- On cross, both witnesses testified that others in the community did not like him.
- Some calls to the store were from customers reporting confrontations with Taz.
- On at least one occasion, police responded to a call in which Zarka pulled a knife on a customer.
- Community member and customer Richard Carter, who “visited” with (met and chatted with) Zarka in his store and said he never saw an “offer” of violence from him.
- Issa (EE-sa) Shaikh (shake), longtime friend of Zarka’s who considers him a brother, described Zarka as loving, peaceful and generous and said Zarka would “give you the shirt off his back in a heartbeat.”
- Landlord Phillip Horowitz testified that he never heard of Zarka being violent, his reputation with customers is “nice,” and that the area can be “troublesome.”
- Two Raleigh police officers who had frequent – almost daily — interactions with Zarka as a business owner:
- WATCH: Jury Sees Cell Phone Video of Deadly Altercation in Convenience Store
- WATCH: Killing in a Convenience Store Trial: Day 3 Recap
DAY 2 – 12/12/24
- The jury saw store surveillance footage showing the deadly encounter between defendant Taz Zarka and victim Mark Garrity, Jr. from different angles.
- WATCH: Killing in a Convenience Store Trial: Day 2 Recap
- The videos also showed Zarka pulling out a mop bucket and cleaning the inside of his store after Garrity hobbled out of the store and lay bleeding to death in the street.
- The jury saw the defendant’s police interview in which he said he said he swung his knife just once at Garrity after Garrity punched and kicked him.
- In the interview, Zarka expressed shock and regret over learning of Garrity’s death, a statement that drew gasps from Garrity’s family and supporters in the courtroom.
- The lead case investigator, Det. Eric Heflin, testified that the video appeared to contradict aspects of Zarka’s account.
- Heflin testified that witness Anyhia (uh-NYE-a) Rogers – the juvenile who recorded cell phone video of the incident – told him Zarka was known to fight with customers and had cut her backpack on a prior occasion.
- Downtown hospitality officer W.R. Jackson testified that after the incident, the defendant said the victim “was trying to be a tough guy.”
- Former crime scene investigator Eileen Einhorn narrated photos showing the inside of Taz’s Market, focusing on mop streaks and droplets throughout the store resembling blood. She testified on cross the mopped-up streaks didn’t affect evidence collection.
- Einhorn also introduced photos of victim Mark Garrity’s blood-soaked clothing – with knife tears in his shirt – and the defendant’s lightly blood-flecked clothes. The visual contrast between the two was striking.
- Crime scene investigator Madison Coleman introduced photos of the defendant that were taken after the incident. The prosecutor focused on images of Zarka’s hands, which had two “minor cuts” – the only injuries that were visible or that the defendant pointed out, in an attempt to undermine the defense’s claim that Garrity instigated the deadly clash by physically attacking Zarka first.
DAY 1 – 12/11/24
- The prosecution and defense present opening statements to the jury.
- Bradley Froeschle, a witness who saw the stabbing, testified that people stood around filming but nobody helped the victim.
- Nathan Cowles, a former employee, described the chaotic scene that began after the victim was suspected of stealing.
- Det. Justin Wester showed the jury Mark Garrity’s backpack, which Zarka had demanded to see, and a bottle of blue Gatorade that Garrity tried to shoplift by putting it in his bag.
- The judge deemed the witness who filmed the cell phone video of the deadly interaction to be hostile/adverse because she responded, “I don’t remember,” to every question from the prosecution.
- The medical examiner testified that cocaine, cocaine metabolites and fentanyl were found in the victim’s system.
- While there were significant levels of the drugs, the medical examiner determined the drugs did not cause the victim’s death.
- Garrity’s death was caused by three stab wounds and associated blood loss.
