Our son was murdered over a bottle of Gatorade… but his sick killer will be free in five years

The family of a young man murdered in a supermarket over a bottle of Gatorade has lashed out at his killer’s punishment.

Mark Garrity, 27, was stabbed after an altercation with Taiser Zarka at Taz’s grocery store in Raleigh, North Carolina, in April 2023.

Zarka, believing Garrity was stealing a Gatorade, confronted him, and the two got into an altercation that ended with the store owner stabbing Garrity.

On Wednesday, the 61-year-old was found guilty of the lesser charge of voluntary manslaughter by a twelve-member jury and sentenced to five years behind bars.

After this lesser sentence was handed down, Garrity’s father Mark issued a statement describing Zarka as “the devil.”

He said: “We are disgusted and will continue to fight for justice for Mark. We will ensure that Taiser Zarka’s past is exposed.

‘He victimized too many people. It was a cold-blooded murder of our 27-year-old son.

‘The justice system is broken and the police waited too long to arrest him. Because his criminal history was erased, the jury didn’t know they were looking at the devil.”

Mark and Garrity’s mother, Amy, had tearfully begged for a harsher prison sentence on Thursday.

The judge in the case ignored their pleas after the jury failed to reach an agreement on whether there was an aggravating circumstance in the case.

Two minors were present in the store at the time and witnessed the fatal stabbing and would have added that factor to the sentence.

The jury had three choices: manslaughter, innocent or voluntary manslaughter.

Under state law, he would have been sentenced to 12 years to life if he had been convicted of manslaughter.

Zarka’s lawyer had said during his trial that it was a matter of self-defense and that Garrity had threatened to shoot him.

In addition to the prison sentence, Zarka was sentenced to 100 hours of community service within nine months of his release.

In his own testimony, Zarka told the court that “things happen” and that he wished Garrity “had listened to him.”

He told the grieving parents: “I wish peace for the family and for their hearts. Their son is now with God.”

Amy Garrity, Mark’s mother, broke down in tears as she addressed the court on Thursday.

She said: “I have to be clear and say without a shadow of a doubt that my son was the strongest and bravest soul I have ever known.

“I’m proud of him, I’m proud of you Mark for what you’ve done and what you’ve overcome in your short life.”

She also spoke about his battle with drug addiction, but said his character was bigger than his problems. He was scheduled to go to a rehabilitation center two days after his death.

In reaching their verdict, the jury asked to re-examine some of the surveillance and cell phone videos taken by witnesses at the store.

One of the cellphone videos showed the two arguing next to a row of refrigerators before it went dark.

In an interview with the lead investigator on the case, Detective Eric Heflin, Zarka claimed he told Garrity he could have the Gatorade if he admitted to stealing it.

He told officers that Garrity then began yelling obscenities at him and threatened to kill him and another employee with a gun.

Zarka said he then tried to get Garrity out of the store, but wanted him to leave his bag behind for fear he actually had a gun on him.

He said, ‘Then he starts hitting, he starts hitting me. I can hit back. But then he reaches into his back pocket. I don’t take any chances with anyone. That’s all.’

Zarka said he then stabbed him and told officers he had grown tired of crime in the city center.

He said, “Downtown Raleigh is changing and going crazy. For the past four years, I don’t know what’s going on.

‘It will now become the Mecca of every drug addict or homeless person [person] come to our streets.”

A toxicology report later found that Garrity had both cocaine and fentanyl in his system when he died.

Heflin would testify that the images from the store did not match Zarka’s memory of what happened.

He said Garrity never reaches for his back pocket during their interaction.

The prosecution and defense agreed that Garrity showed up at the store and the two got into an argument.

Zarka claimed that Garrity put the sports drink in his bag. The state argued that Zarka overreacted and that what happened after the stabbing spoke to his character.

Wake County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Latour said Zarka never went to check on Garrity as he lay bleeding in the street, but instead cleaned the store.

According to The news and the observerhe said, “The suspect never goes out there, never walks out there to look [Garrity] while he dies on the street.

“No, what is the defendant doing while Mark is dying? You will see the defendant mopping. While Mark dies, the defendant mops.”

Zarka’s lawyer, Karl Knudsen, tried to portray his client as a kind-hearted store owner who had worked in a dangerous environment.

“All he wanted to do was get the bag, especially if he thought there might be a gun in it,” Knudsen said. “And Mark Garrity wouldn’t give it up.”

After the sentencing was handed down, Knudsen said: ‘It’s traumatic to see the death of a human being.”