With Tuesday marking the second anniversary of Dustin Friedland's killing, a criminal case and a lawsuit over the fatal carjacking continue to wind their way through the court system in Essex County Watch video
NEWARK -- Two years after her husband was killed in a carjacking at The Mall at Short Hills, the experience continues to haunt Jamie Schare Friedland.
"After what she lived through, every day is a struggle," Friedland's attorney, Bruce Nagel, said.
Returning to their car after holiday shopping at the upscale mall in Millburn on Dec. 15, 2013, Dustin Friedland opened the passenger side door of the Range Rover for his wife to get inside.
Moments later, two men allegedly approached Dustin Friedland outside the vehicle and ultimately shot him in the head during a struggle. Jamie Schare Friedland was then allegedly forced out of the car at gunpoint and the assailants sped off in the Range Rover.
As her husband laid dying on the pavement of the mall parking deck, Friedland frantically called 911 for help.
"Yes, this is an emergency. I'm at the Short Hills mall parking lot," Friedland screamed at the 911 dispatcher. "My husband has been shot."
With Tuesday marking the second anniversary of Dustin Friedland's killing, a criminal case and a lawsuit over the fatal carjacking continue to wind their way through the court system in Essex County.
Four criminal defendants - Karif Ford, Basim Henry, Hanif Thompson, and Kevin Roberts - have been pursuing pretrial motions as they face murder and related charges in the incident.
Meanwhile, Jamie Schare Friedland is suing the mall's owners and other defendants, claiming they failed to provide adequate security at the shopping center and could have prevented the death of Dustin Friedland, a 30-year-old Hoboken attorney.
According to court documents in the civil case, Friedland suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and remains fearful of someone breaking into her home.
In a phone interview on Friday, Nagel accused the mall's owners, Michigan-based Taubman Centers, Inc., and other defendants in the litigation of dragging out the case and "doing everything possible not to take responsibility and to try to wear her down."
"It's simply disgusting after what she's been through," Nagel added. Nagel said Friedland declined to be interviewed for this article.
But Stanley Fishman, an attorney for Taubman Centers, has said the killing was a "random act of violence," and that the shopping center could not have prevented it.
"We did everything we could possibly do," Fishman said at a July 31 court hearing. "We could've had a hundred police officers there, but a random act of violence is a random act of violence."
Mall officials declined to discuss whether they have implemented any security changes at the shopping center in response to the fatal carjacking.
In a statement on Friday, mall attorney Christopher E. McIntyre said: "The safety of our customers, retailers and employees is our first priority. For decades we have worked with local authorities, including the Millburn Police Department, to protect our guests, and we will continue to employ all available resources this holiday season. However, we will not discuss the details of our security program so as not to diminish its effectiveness."
The Criminal Case
- Nearly a week after the incident, the criminal investigation led to the arrests of the four alleged killers - Henry, 34, of South Orange, Thompson, 31, of Irvington, and Ford, 33, and Roberts, 37, both of Newark. The four men have been accused of arriving at the mall in a GMC Suburban and carjacking Friedland's Range Rover.
- The wide-ranging investigation included a review of mall surveillance videos and cell phone records as well as the assistance of confidential informants, according to court documents in the criminal case.
- One key piece of evidence is a statement to police by Ford, in which he allegedly admitted that he and his three co-defendants were involved in the fatal carjacking, court documents state.
- The four men were indicted in September 2014 on six counts, including murder, felony murder, carjacking, conspiracy and weapons offenses. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges.
- In recent months, the criminal case has been marked by the defendants' failed efforts to gather more information from prosecutors and prevent certain evidence from being used against them at their trial.
The four men charged in a fatal carjacking at The Mall at Short Hills -- Karif Ford, Basim Henry, Hanif Thompson, and Kevin Roberts -- appeared on Monday, July 27, with their attorneys before Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin. Pictured from right to left are Essex County Assistant Prosecutors Ralph Amirata and Brian Matthews; Dennis Cleary, Henry's attorney; Jennifer Sellitti, Thompson's attorney; Raymond Beam, Ford's attorney; and Albert Kapin, Roberts's attorney. The four defendants stood behind their attorneys. (Bill Wichert | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com)- The defendants pursued a motion to reveal the identity of a confidential informant, whose information ultimately led to Ford's alleged confession, court documents state. Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin on Nov. 20 denied that motion.
- That same day, the judge denied a defense motion to suppress phone records connected to Henry and Thompson.
- The defendants asserted the phone records should be inadmissible at their trial, because affidavits filed to attain them contained the false statement that a certain license plate could be seen in the surveillance video footage. Ravin found the language in the affidavits was consistent with the state's assertion that the license plate number was provided by a confidential informant.
- As the defendants have been pursuing motions, their attorneys have challenged the judge's fairness in the case. Over the summer, the defendants joined in a motion to recuse Ravin, because he had previously approved numerous warrants in the case. The judge denied that motion, saying he remains impartial.
- The defense attorneys also have questioned whether the judge was treating their clients fairly, because he has instructed the lawyers to present their arguments about motions in writing and not through oral arguments in the courtroom. Ravin has said oral arguments are not required in criminal cases and that the written submissions allow him to deliberate on the issues. "Whoever wants a fair trial, they're in the right place," Ravin said at a Nov. 20 hearing.
The Civil Case
- About three months after the fatal carjacking, Jamie Schare Friedland filed her lawsuit in March 2014 in Essex County Superior Court. In addition to Taubman Centers, the defendants include California-based Universal Protection Service, which has provided security services at the mall, and the Millburn-Short Hills Volunteer First Aid Squad.
- Squad members had trouble accessing the crime scene after an ambulance could not fit under the parking deck's ceiling, forcing emergency workers to roll a stretcher up the ramp and then wheel Dustin Friedland back down, the lawsuit states.
- The lawsuit alleges the mall's owners knew of the history of carjackings in Essex County and failed to protect patrons during the busiest shopping season of the year.
- One of the hotly contested issues in the litigation has been the release of mall surveillance videos related to the incident.
- The mall's owners sought a "protective order" to prevent public disclosure of the videos, claiming that prospective criminals could use the footage to determine the location of the cameras. Superior Court Judge James S. Rothschild, Jr. in November 2014 said that was "a fairly unlikely scenario," and denied the request for an order covering the videos. According to Bruce Nagel, the attorney representing Friedland in the lawsuit, the videos show the alleged killers driving around the mall on the night of the carjacking. Another set of videos also show the suspects' SUV following another Range Rover on Dec. 12, 2013, Nagel said.
- In another ruling, Rothschild in July ordered Taubman and Universal Protection Service to turn over documents related to their security expenses and prior criminal activity at the mall.
- The latest legal battle has centered on Friedland's claim for the negligent infliction of emotional distress from witnessing her husband's death. Taubman and Universal Protection Service have argued that claim should be dismissed due to a lack of evidence that Friedland was aware of their alleged negligence at the time of the incident, court documents state. Rothschild has denied their requests, saying that standard was limited to medical malpractice cases. Universal Protection Service is appealing his decision in the Appellate Division.
- A separate legal dispute also is ongoing over which insurance providers would be responsible for paying damages to Friedland. Two insurance providers - one on behalf of Taubman and one on behalf of Universal Protection Service - have claimed each other is responsible for any damages that may be awarded, according to Nagel. Rothschild has ruled he will select the responsible provider, but the providers are challenging his authority to do so in an appeal filed with the Appellate Division, Nagel said. "The insurance issue is certainly putting a damper on settlement discussions," Nagel said on Friday.
Bill Wichert may be reached at bwichert@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BillWichertNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.