Detective: Man’s tale of Boonton shooting inconsistent

Within a few hours of being wounded by gunfire and his wife shot to death on a Boonton street, Kashif Parvaiz gave inconsistent statements about the order of the shots and the races of three assailants he said attacked them, a detective testified Monday at Parvaiz’s murder trial.

Parsippany Detective Sgt. Thomas Lesiak detailed for a Morris County jury how he was on-duty with another detective around 11:20 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2011, when he responded to a radio call for mutual aid to the scene of a double shooting on Cedar Street in Boonton.

Lesiak and Morris County Prosecutor’s Office Detective Matthew Potter were both called Monday by Assistant Prosecutor Matthew Troiano as a prelude to lengthy testimony expected Tuesday from retired Prosecutor’s Office Capt. Jeffrey Paul.

Paul, sometime after 2:30 a.m. on Aug. 17, 2011 and continuing for hours, elicited admissions from Parvaiz about arranging for the death of his wife of six years, Nazish Noorani, 27.

But before those incriminating statements -- ruled admissible by Superior Court Judge Robert Gilson -- Lesiak and Potter conducted two short audiotaped interviews with Parvaiz at Morristown Medical Center, where he was brought for treatment of four, non-life-threatening bullet wounds.

Shot three times, including twice in the chest, Noorani died within minutes on Cedar Street. She and her husband were in Boonton to break the fast of the Muslim holiday of Ramadan with relatives. They were shot while walking one of their children, a 2-year-old boy, in a stroller. The toddler was not injured.

Lesiak said that Parvaiz was “hysterical,” crying and in pain at the scene and during an ambulance ride to the hospital. He said Parvaiz initially told him that he and his wife were attacked by three men, including a tall black man and a white or Hispanic male wearing a white scarf around his face. Parvaiz said he didn’t notice the race of the third male. He initially said that he was shot first by the black male and then the white or Hispanic man opened fire on him and his wife.

A short while later, Lesiak said, Parvaiz told him that two of the assailants were definitely black because he recognized the speech patterns and slang used by African American men from living in Brooklyn. His story later changed to say his wife was shot first, followed by shots fired at him.

“The guy shot me, he shot my wife and I saw it,” a crying Parvaiz said in an audiotaped interview with Lesiak and Potter that was played for the jury. In a second brief interview, also played in court, he said:

“It was so fast. I was screaming. I just started praying. I was screaming my lungs off.”

Lesiak said he didn’t regard Parvaiz as a suspect during their conversations but was bothered by his inconsistent statements since he wanted authorities to have accurate information in searching for three men armed with guns.

Parvaiz also told the detectives that he didn’t see the guns when the men approached him on the street. But in describing the scene, he claimed: “I put my hand up and said ‘Don’t shoot,’’ Lesiak recounted.

Co-defense attorney John Latoracca tried to discredit Lesiak by pointing out that he failed to record many statements in his notes that he was attributing to Parvaiz in his court testimony.

“That was the job,” Latoracca said. Lesiak agreed and then stated, “I know what happened. He was shot.”

The two detectives interviewed Parvaiz for about 15 minutes and then conferred privately for a few minutes before conducting a second brief interview at the hospital on Aug. 17, 2011. In the second talk, Potter immediately told Parvaiz that he expected to talk to the victim to get her account. During cross-examination by Latoracca, Potter said he was aware that Noorani was dead but he mentioned her name as though she were alive to see how Parvaiz would react.

Parvaiz had emerged as a suspect within about six hours of the shooting. Around 2:40 a.m. on Aug. 17, 2011, Potter asked him to sign a consent form authorizing a search of his cellular phone. Potter said that Parvaiz advised him then that he was involved for the past six years in an extramarital affair with a woman from Brooklyn and communications with her might be found on his phone.

Paul, the retired Prosecutor’s Office captain, took over interviews with Parvaiz at the hospital after Lesiak and Potter finished speaking with him. Not all of Paul’s conversations with Parvaiz were recorded but by 5:50 a.m., Paul had requested a so-called Miranda form that outlines a person’s right to remain silent or speak to an attorney and Parvaiz signed it.

Troiano, the assistant prosecutor, told jurors in his opening statement that detectives came across phone text messages detailing a conspiracy between Parvaiz and a lover from Billerica, Mass. named Antionette Stephen.

Stephen, now 30, has pleaded guilty to conspiring with Parvaiz to kill his wife and wound him, and has agreed to testify against him for the state.

Staff Writer Peggy Wright: 973-267-1142; pwright@njpressmedia.com