Jury sees graphic cellphone videos in Raleigh convenience-store murder trial
As Mark Thomas Garrity Jr. lay bleeding on the street in downtown Raleigh, no one came to help him.
Instead, strangers shouted and filmed his final moments on their cellphones as Garrity, 27, died from the stab wounds he sustained inside Taz’s Supermarket One, inflicted by the store’s owner, 61-year-old Taiseer Zarka.
Minutes elapsed before a bartender from The Raleigh Times rushed over and tried to staunch the bleeding.
A jury and a packed courtroom filled with Garrity’s and Zarka’s loved ones watched three of those cellphone videos in court Wednesday morning on the first day of the criminal trial against Zarka. He is charged with second-degree murder in the April 6, 2023, stabbing. If convicted, he could face up to life in prison without parole.
In opening arguments, Wake County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Latour and Zarka’s defense attorney, Karl Knudsen, agreed on core facts in the case.
The attorneys said just before 3:45 p.m. that day, Zarka and Garrity got into an argument after Garrity allegedly placed a sports drink inside his bag. And they agreed that dispute ended with Zarka fatally stabbing Garrity with a knife — but they differed on Zarka’s intentions.
Knudsen told jurors Zarka was acting in self-defense and believed Garrity had a gun on him.
The state argued Zarka overreacted, with Latour emphasizing a particular moment after the stabbing was especially telling.
“The defendant never goes outside, never walks out there to check on [Garrity] as he’s dying in the street or says, ‘Man, is he OK? Everybody, let’s get some pressure on that wound, everybody take care of him,’” Latour said.
“No, while Mark dies, what does the defendant do?” he continued. “You’ll see that the defendant mops. While Mark dies, the defendant mops.”
Knudsen portrayed Zarka as a kindhearted store owner working in a dangerous area and exasperated by constant shoplifting.
“You will hear and see from the evidence that the place where this store is is not like where most of you guys live,” Knudsen told the jury. “It’s right adjacent to the bus station. There are transient people there … there are people that use drugs and drink and they fight. … It’s a little bit like the Wild West.”
So when Zarka spotted Garrity on a store camera putting a sports drink in his bag, all he wanted was to see what was in that bag, Knudsen said.
“Taz will testify that he never wanted to hurt anyone,” Knudsen said. “To begin with, all he wanted to do is get the bag, especially when he thought that there might be a gun in there. And Mark Garrity wouldn’t give it up.”
Witness testimony, first exhibit
Jurors were presented with the following evidence Wednesday morning:
Testimony from Bradley Froeschle, a bartender at The Raleigh Times who tried to help Garrity after he was stabbed. Froeschle sobbed as he recalled running out into the street and finding Garrity after a coworker informed him of the stabbing. “He said, ‘Am I gonna die?’” Froeschle testified. “I just said, ‘No, you’re gonna hold on, you’re gonna fight,’ and I just kept trying to [put] pressure.”
Testimony from Nathan Cowles, a cashier at Taz’s Supermarket One who was working when the stabbing occurred. Cowles testified Zarka asked him to look at the security cameras to confirm Garrity appeared to be placing the sports drink in his bag; when Cowles confirmed that, Zarka went to confront Garrity. He did not witness the stabbing but did hear shouting and saw Zarka and Garrity scuffling.
Testimony from Anyhia Rodgers, a bystander who filmed the stabbing and aftermath. Her cellphone videos were played in court for the jury.
In the first cellphone video played for the court, Rodgers is heard narrating as Zarka and Garrity stand inches apart, yelling at each other.
“He gonna cut him or what?” Rodgers says in the video. “He’s about to cut his [expletive].”
At least five other customers, including a toddler, are shown milling about the store as Garrity and Zarka argue. The two men back into a cooler of drinks, with Garrity shouting, “Stop!” Blood blooms on Garrity’s shirt as Rodgers screams, “He stabbed him!”
Rodgers then follows Garrity out of the store as he stumbles outside and lies down in the middle of the street. Garrity’s family members sobbed in court as the camera panned in on the wounded Garrity.
In the second clip, bystanders are seen trying to help Garrity as Froeschle applies a bar towel to a gaping wound in Garrity’s chest.
In the third clip, Rodgers says Zarka is mopping up the floor in the store as first responders are seen crouching by Garrity’s side.
“He’s not breathing,” Rodgers says.
Testimony was scheduled to resume after a lunch break Wednesday.
This story was originally published December 11, 2024 at 2:55 PM with the headline "Jury sees graphic cellphone videos in Raleigh convenience-store murder trial."
