Jul 22, 2008

Hearing delayed for man suspected of killing friend

Najdawi faces 50 years to life in fatal shooting

By Christine Morente / Bay Area News Group

The arraignment for Teyseer "Terry" Zaid Najdawi, who is suspected of killing a 28-year-old Millbrae man, was postponed Monday so that his court-appointed attorney can familiarize himself with the case.

Najdawi is charged with murder and illegal use of a firearm in the shooting death of Jack Chu and faces 50 years to life in prison if convicted, said Steve Wagstaffe, chief deputy district attorney for San Mateo County. Najdawi is scheduled to reappear in San Mateo County Superior Court on July 28 to enter a plea.

Wagstaffe said that Najdawi and Chu were good friends and had known each other for years. The night before Chu's death, they were "hanging out, drinking and partying in San Francisco," he said.

At 2 a.m. on July 8, Millbrae police responded to a report of gunshots at Lincoln Circle. Two days later, Chu's body was found in his car, a white Acura Integra, which had been parked near Chula Vista and Sanchez avenues in Burlingame.

Wagstaffe said an autopsy showed that Chu died of multiple gunshot wounds to the head. A toxicology report is not yet available.

"I won't go into motive," Wagstaffe said. "It's speculative at this point."

Three days after Chu was found, Millbrae police issued a warrant for Najdawi's arrest. A second warrant was issued to search Najdawi's mother's home in the 1200 block of Bellevue Avenue in Burlingame.

Wagstaffe said investigators found clothes that Najdawi may have been wearing at the time of the shooting. The clothes are being tested for Chu's blood and gunshot residue. The results are expected in a few weeks.

Najdawi, who is unemployed, split his time between his mother's home and Reno, where he was arrested last year for a weapons charge, according to Millbrae police.

Najdawi was taken into custody without incident July 17 at a hotel in Redding by a police SWAT team. He is being held without bail in San Mateo County jail.