He killed a man in his Raleigh store over a bottle of Gatorade. Now, he’s being sued.
Two years after a downtown Raleigh convenience store owner fatally stabbed a 27-year-old over a bottle of Gatorade, the man’s mother has filed a wrongful death suit in Wake County Superior Court.
Taiseer Zarka, 62, was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter last December in the April 6, 2023, killing of Mark Garrity Jr. at Taz’s on Wilmington Street, The News & Observer previously reported.
Zarka stabbed Garrity three times after confronting him over a bottle of Gatorade in Garrity’s bag that Zarka believed Garrity was trying to steal.
Zarka was sentenced to five to seven years in prison.
Now, in a suit filed last week, Zarka, his corporation and Phillip Horwitz, the building’s owner, are accused of negligence in Garrity’s death.
“Unfortunately, in the months and years leading up to Mark’s death, those who owned and operated the store and who leased the premises chose to ignore the very real threat of violence that the store and its operator presented … and continued to profit by turning a blind eye,” the complaint states.
The store, which opened in June 2008, “was regularly and repeatedly the site of criminal activity, was in a ruinous condition, and was in a state of nuisance,” the complaint alleges. The suit cites a report by WRAL as evidence noting 939 calls for service from the Raleigh Police Department for incidents at or near Taz’s, including 134 disturbances, 42 assaults and nine fights.
Furthermore, the complaint alleges Zarka should not have been allowed to work as a cashier because of his criminal history, which includes:
October 2001 charges of an ABC law violation, possessing an illegal slot machine, possessing beer or wine on unauthorized premises and selling alcohol to someone under 21.
January 2002 charges of discharging a firearm within city limits and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon.
August 2007 charges of injury to real property and communicating threats.
A January 2010 charge of operating a business without a license.
February 2011 charges of simple assault, communicating threats and misdemeanor larceny.
A May 2014 charge of driving while impaired.
An August 2022 charge of assault with a deadly weapon.
A February 2023 charge of fraud.
“The above-described charges and/or convictions establish Defendant Zarka was unlawful, reckless, unsafe, untrustworthy, erratic, irresponsible, and someone who should not be entrusted with operating a convenience store or working as a cashier,” the complaint states.
In video footage from his interrogation played at Zarka’s week-long December trial, he explained the August 2022 assault charge stemmed from defending himself with a knife when six men attacked him in his store. A judge dismissed the charge, he said in the footage; court records don’t show any evidence of the charge.
“Raleigh downtown is changing, becoming crazy,” Zarka said in the footage. “It’s now becoming the Mecca of every drug addict or homeless [person] coming to our streets.”
Garrity suffered three stab wounds, including one that penetrated his heart, a medical examiner testified in December’s trial. As he lay dying in the street outside the store, Zarka mopped Garrity’s blood off the floor of the store, according to evidence shown in court.
Zarka argued he feared for his safety that afternoon and worried Garrity had a gun. His defense attorney, Karl Knudsen, told jurors years of working in downtown Raleigh had frightened Zarka.
“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 said. “There are people that use drugs and drink and they fight. … It’s a little bit like the Wild West.”
In her victim impact statement to the court, Amy Garrity shared 27 facts about her son, including his love of Christmas and their pug, Tinkerbell.
“I know who Mark was,” she said. “He was not a thief. He was my son. Mark Thomas Garrity Jr. was a human being, wrongly accused, murdered in broad daylight.”
Amy Garrity is requesting expenses for her son’s care at WakeMed, compensation for his pain and suffering, funeral expenses and the monetary value of what he would have contributed to society. Those damages would exceed $25,000, according to the complaint.
This story was originally published April 8, 2025 at 4:08 PM.
