2nd man charged in slaying of Charlotte store owner

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Police charged a second man, Shalome Quran Scott, Wednesday with the murder and armed robbery of well-known store owner in north Charlotte on Jan. 12.

Detectives said they arrested Scott for unrelated warrants and took him to police headquarters where he was interviewed. Scott was then charged in Massaquoi Kotay's death once the interview was over.

Desmond Black, 20, was also charged earlier with armed robbery and murder in Kotay's death. The Violent Criminal Apprehension Team located Black Friday morning and took him into custody without incident.

(Black, Scott)

Detectives believe that Black and Scott are the only two suspects involved in this case.

Family members showed up to Black's court date the following Tuesday.

"We have lost him and we need justice,” Kotay family spokesman Gonsahn Mattaldi said. “It is not going to be a black-on-black crime. We will continue to come to court. We will continue to come to court. We will do what we have to do until those perpetrators do not come outside."

The homicide marked Charlotte’s fifth in the first 12 days of 2017.

[IMAGES: Scene of Charlotte's fifth homicide]

Family members said Kotay, 45, owned one of the grocery marts in the shopping plaza and was well-known in the Liberian community.

Investigators were dispatched to the 4400 block of North Tryon Street, just north of Sugar Creek Road, after reports of a shooting around 2 p.m. Thursday.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found Kotay fatally shot inside one of the businesses in the small shopping center.

(Massaquoi Kotay)

“These young girls have lost their father for no apparent reason,” Gonsahn Mattaldi, a long-time family friend of Kotay said.

Officers swarmed the area on foot and by helicopter and interviewed several witnesses.

Channel 9 spoke to one man who called 911. He said Kotay went running into a nearby barber shop shouting for help. The caller said Kotay collapsed on the floor, and also mentioned that Kotay had money in his hands when he ran into the barber shop.

“One guy said he heard several shots fired,” Sal Esernio, the manager of a nearby auto shop, said.

Esernio said he also called 911 after the shots were fired and then ran to check his surveillance cameras.
Esernio claims the video shows Kotay running from the mart and into the next door business, where he collapsed and died. He said the video also shows individuals leaving the scene.

Police wouldn’t confirm that information but told Channel 9 it appears an altercation between Kotay and the gunman led to the shooting.

As minutes and hours passed, more and more family and friends of Kotay began showing up at the scene. Some were so overcome with emotion that they collapsed in the parking lot.

Kotay had two sons and two daughters, relatives said.

Family also said he was a former vice president of the Liberian Community Association Charlotte and remained active in the organization.

“He had just bought this mart six months ago,” Mattaldi said. “I was just here with him last night.”

Mattaldi said Kotay was excited about his new business. Now the family is trying to make sense of such violence.

“The issue now is about justice,” Mattaldi said.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call 704-432-TIPS.

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