A Mount Vernon man accused of fatally shooting teenager Tamani Turner from a car last month allegedly torched the car in the Bronx to conceal evidence before being arrested trying to catch a flight to Jamaica.
Akeem Grant, 33, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Thursday following his indictment on murder and other charges in the killing of Turner, an 18-year-old Mount Vernon High School student known as Tajohn.
The Westchester District Attorney’s Office said Turner was shot twice in the torso early in the afternoon April 6 while standing next to the passenger side of the parked car on Garden Avenue near East Fourth Street. Grant was soon identified as a suspect and was arrested the following day at Philadelphia International Airport following an investigation by Mount Vernon detectives and the FBI Westchester Safe Streets Task Force.
Authorities have not said whether the gun was recovered or whether they suspect Grant was trying to conceal any other evidence besides the car.
Grant is charged with second-degree murder, second-degree criminal possession of a weapon, third-degree arson and tampering with physical evidence, all felonies, and faces up to 25 years to life on the murder charge. His lawyer, Christina Hall, did not request bail, and Westchester County Judge Maurice D. Williams returned Grant to the county jail.
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Hall declined to discuss details of the case, saying she is still reviewing the initial evidence provided by prosecutors.
About a dozen relatives of Turner’s attended the arraignment. His mother rushed from the courtroom in tears shortly after Grant was brought in. They declined to comment afterwards.
At the time of his arrest, Grant was already facing a misdemeanor animal cruelty charge in Mount Vernon City Court.
According to the complaint in that case, which is still pending, Grant contacted the Westchester Humane Society in early February to surrender a pitbull. The dog, named “Striker,” appeared emaciated in photos Grant sent them. When SPCA members went to pick the dog up its bones were clearly visible. When a veterinarian checked out the dog, it weighed only 32 pounds, less than the 50-60 pounds it should have weighed, and its skin showed signs of being kept in a cage with no bedding.
Grant claimed he had left the dog unattended for two weeks so it probably didn’t eat during that time, according to the complaint.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Man pleads not guilty in shooting of Mount Vernon teen Tamani Turner