An East Orange man has been convicted of killing an Irvington man in a case that included threats of violence against a witness by the defendant’s sister and cousin.
Isaiah J. Knight, 31, of East Orange, was convicted of first-degree murder, weapons charges, and conspiracy to commit witness tampering on Thursday, April 17.
Following the trial on those charges, Knight was also found guilty in a separate trial of first-degree unlawful possession of a weapon by a person prohibited, stemming from a 2013 aggravated assault conviction. The jury also found Knight was a persistent offender, according to a press release from Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II. The case was tried before Judge Ronald D. Wigler.
Knight killed 23-year-old Tyzier White of Irvington on June 1, 2021, outside of the Neptune Lounge, a bar on Campbell Street in Newark.
Knight reportedly felt slighted during an interaction involving himself, his cousin and the victim. Two eyewitnesses told investigators Knight then shot White five times at point-blank range.
White, was transported to University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Prosecutors alleged that Knight and accomplices engaged in several attempts to intimidate one of the eyewitnesses.
Two men, known by their nicknames as “Zay” and “DJ Neptune,” witnessed the shooting. Both men provided sworn statements in which they identified the shooter, and both later selected defendant Isaiah Knight’s photograph from a photo array. On June 16, 2021, law enforcement arrested Knight.
On Dec. 21, 2021, Zay gave a statement to law enforcement, claiming that a woman he met online took him to a residence in Newark. Zay stated that once inside a bedroom on the second floor, he and the woman smoked marijuana. Zay recalled that at some point she grabbed her coat and a lighter and said she wanted to go outside to smoke a cigarette.
When she opened the door and left the room, however, another woman along with two masked men armed with guns, entered the bedroom.
Zay stated that he was given a written affidavit and told to copy it. The affidavit recanted Zay’s original statement to law enforcement identifying the defendant as the shooter. After Zay copied the recanting affidavit, the captors released him.
Jail house communications between the defendant and several individuals led to the arrest of the defendant’s sister, cousin and girlfriend for their roles in the plot. Charges against those individuals are pending. The same eyewitness and his family were also threatened via text messages. Additionally, the eyewitness’s statements to police were edited over a rap video referring to “snitches,” which was posted on Instagram.
Knight is scheduled for sentencing on June 5. He faces up to life in prison.
Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to contact the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office tips line at 1-877-TIPS-4EC or 1-877-847-7432. All calls will be kept confidential.
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