Detroit man charged for killing Uber driver

DETROIT (WJBK) -
He's accused of calling Uber for a ride, then gunning down the driver.

A Detroit man is now facing multiple charges, including felony murder. Quietly shaking his head -- as his charges are read, Dejuan Watson was arraigned Monday.

"You are charged with count one homicide, felony murder maximum penalty life without parole," said the judge.

Watson, 23, was arraigned on armed robbery, felony firearm and drug charges for the killing of 51-year-old Modou Diagne, an Uber driver sent to pick Watson up last month.

"The damage has already been done so we just pray every day," said Anna Sarr, a close family friend of Diagne.

Detroit police say Watson called the Uber driver of three years to pick him up on Chester Street on the city's west side, when they got into some sort of altercation.

And police say just a couple of miles away that fight turned deadly. His car crashed near Livernois and Joy roads after being shot twice. His family still doesn't understand what kind of fight could have turned to gunfire.

"He didn't have any problems with anybody," Sarr said. "He didn't hate anybody. He just took a very happy man from this earth who could have lived a long fruitful life with his wife."

The West African immigrant from Senegal built a life in Detroit. His wife and children, family and friends, left behind. Diagne is now the second driver from West Africa shot and killed in the city within the last month.

"They have young kids and she is also expecting another one," Sarr said. "It's just hard. There are no words to explain what she's feeling right now. The only thing we can do is be with her."

This family ripped apart and forced to pick up the pieces, say they feel some sense of relief knowing Watson is behind bars and being held without bond.

"I hope he prays wherever he is and God forgives him," Sarr said. "Because we will try to forgive him."