May 18, 2023 -- Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah announced today that a Mount Vernon man was arraigned on an indictment charging him with the April 2023 murder of 18-year-old Tamani Turner in Mount Vernon.
DA Rocah said: “Another young life has been tragically lost because of an alleged merciless act of gun violence. Thanks to the swift action of our law enforcement partners, we can now work to secure justice for Tamani Turner, his family and the Mount Vernon community.”
A Westchester County Grand Jury indicted Akeem Grant, 33, for Murder in the Second Degree, Criminal Possession of a Weapon in the Second Degree, Arson in the Third Degree, and Tampering with Physical Evidence, all felonies. The defendant was arraigned before Judge Maurice D. Williams in Westchester County Court on May 18, 2023, and remanded. The defendant also has a pending animal abuse case in Mount Vernon City Court.
On April 6, 2023, at approximately 12:35 p.m., the defendant, while sitting in his car, allegedly shot the victim two times in the torso while he was standing on the passenger side of the parked car on Garden Avenue in Mount Vernon. The victim was transported to Montefiore New Rochelle Hospital and then Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx, where he underwent emergency surgery, but ultimately died. It is further alleged the defendant set fire to his car in the Bronx, in order to destroy evidence.
The defendant was arrested at the Philadelphia International Airport attempting to board a plane to Jamaica on April 7, 2023. The investigation was conducted by the Mount Vernon Police Department and the FBI’s Westchester Safe Streets Task Force.
The case is before Judge Anne Minihan in Westchester County Court, and is being prosecuted by Major Case Bureau Chief Nadine Nagler and Assistant District Attorney Timothy O’Hara, both of the Trials and Investigations Division.
The charges against the defendant are merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
______________
Anna Young, Public Information Officer
(914) 995-6551
ayoung@westchesterda.net
