For nearly three hours Monday, Taiseer “Taz” Zarka took the stand to defend himself in the fatal stabbing of a customer in his downtown Raleigh store, insisting the younger man grabbed him by the neck, kicked at his head and threatened him with a pistol.

Testimony wrapped up Monday in the case of a Raleigh store owner accused of fatally stabbing a customer he believed was stealing from his shop.

Taiseer Zarka, 61, is charged with second-degree murder in the April 6, 2023, stabbing death of Mark Thomas Garrity Jr., 27, of Calabash.

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.

Longtime friend Issa Shaikh testified that he and Zarka came from the same hometown in Palestine, and moved to North Carolina from Kuwait at roughly the same time more than 40 years ago. He felt compelled, he said, to act as a guide when Zarka was a newcomer. For this trial, he said, he posted 90% of his friend’s bail.

Testimony ended Monday and the jury will begin deliberating Tuesday in the murder trial of Taiseer Zarka, the owner of Taz's Supermarket in downtown Raleigh who is accused of stabbing customer Mark Garrity to death in April 2023.

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