Edward Turner, 28, is accused of killing Papa Khaly Ndiaye in the March 23, 2013 shooting
NEWARK -- Papa Khaly Ndiaye had come to the United States from his native Senegal to make a life for himself, Essex County Assistant Prosecutor Eric Plant said. Ndiaye was recently married and he was happy to have become a manager at an IHOP restaurant in Newark, Plant said.
But around 3 a.m. on March 23, 2013, Ndiaye found himself in the middle of a melee among customers at the Bergen Street eatery, Plant said. As Ndiaye was trying to break up the fight and get people outside, gun shots rang out and he was killed with a bullet to the head, Plant said.
In a Newark courtroom on Tuesday, Plant told jurors the investigation ultimately revealed Edward Turner was the shooter.
During opening statements at Turner's trial in the fatal shooting, Plant said a witness named Wendell Robinson has told police that Turner fired the weapon. Turner tried to get Robinson to not talk to the police or to lie to the police, according to Plant.
Plant said he expects "the evidence to show beyond a reasonable doubt that Edward Turner was the person who fired the shots that night."
Turner's attorney, Richie Roberts, however, argued detectives cajoled Robinson and told him to identify Turner as the gunman. The detectives threatened Robinson about him going to jail before the case goes to trial, Roberts said.
"'Tell us Eddie did it,'" Roberts told jurors, referring to what the detectives allegedly told Robinson. "That's what you're going to hear and that's what they did."
Roberts also claimed surveillance video footage of the incident proves Robinson is a liar. While Robinson claims he saw the weapon, the footage shows the shots were fired from inside the shooter's coat, according to Roberts.
"A picture's worth a 1,000 words," Roberts added. "He's lying."
MORE: Newark man to face trial in killing of IHOP manager
Turner, 28, of Newark, is facing murder, attempted murder, witness tampering and weapons offenses.
The circumstances leading to Ndiaye's death was "a series of really bizarre and random situations that all came together at the same time," Plant told the jury. The case also deals with people who had been drinking alcohol and "a love triangle," Plant said.
Plant said those random situations involved three separate groups.
One group, including Robinson and Turner, arrived at the IHOP to celebrate Robinson's birthday, Plant said. The second group, including a man named Marcus Jones, had been drinking and stopped at the restaurant after getting a flat tire, Plant said.
As Turner's group was leaving the restaurant, those two groups exchanged words during a brief dispute in the IHOP parking lot, according to Plant. Turner's group then leaves and Jones and others go inside the restaurant, Plant said.
Inside the restaurant, a woman in Jones's group has an argument with her girlfriend, who was with a third group there, Plant said. The woman was surprised to see her girlfriend, whom she believed was working, Plant said.
As that dispute became physical, Jones punches and kicks other individuals, Plant said. At some point, Plant alleges Turner returned to the restaurant and called Jones to come outside.
Turner then allegedly opened fire in the direction of Jones, striking him numerous times, Plant said. Ndiaye was struck behind his left ear and another man was shot in the arm, Plant said.
Ndiaye, 30, of Middlesex Borough, was pronounced dead several hours later at University Hospital.
But Roberts told jurors the surveillance video footage shows the shooter wearing a jacket that was different than what Turner had been wearing. Roberts suggested Turner was not present at the time of the shooting.
Roberts said everyone should feel sympathy for Ndiaye's death, but he told jurors that sympathy "should not override and should not take over what your job is, which is to see if the state has proven that case."
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.