Uber driver murder suspect's girlfriend says she lied to police to protect him

DETROIT - An Uber driver from Ghana gunned down in Detroit allegedly by one of his own customers. On Thursday that suspect was in court.

Dajuan Watson entered the courtroom in handcuffs, confronted by testimony from his girlfriend about the night he allegedly shot  Modou Diagne twice outside their home on Detroit's west side.

Attorney: "Why weren't you completely truthful in the beginning?"

"Because I wanted to protect him, she said.

"Why did you want to protect him?"

"Because I love him," she said.

She described the horrific scene one night at the end of March outside the couple's home on Pacific Street.

She says she saw Watson, who said he had taken the bus home, but prosecutors say he was the one who took the Uber home, then killed Modou Diagne.

"When I looked out the window, the truck had run off the road, off the curb, and hit a tree down the street," she said.

Police searched Watson's house for a weapon and found a large quantity of drugs.

"Generally that kind of a quantity, especially heroin, is usually for sale more than personal use," said Sgt. Robert Lalone, Detroit Police Department.

The only thing police found missing from the Uber vehicle was Diagne's cell phone, which Watson's girlfriend has now admitted to lying about.

"He said that they had a confrontation and the man calling him by a name and he tried to snatch his phone," she said.

The preliminary exam for Watson is only just getting started. It will continue next Thursday, when we expect to learn more on the alleged motive.