Suspects in Short Hills carjack murder plead not guilty
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Four men charged in the fatal carjacking of a young lawyer outside an upscale New Jersey mall last year have pleaded not guilty to felony murder and other charges.
The suspects entered their pleas Wednesday during brief hearings in state Superior Court in Essex County.
Hanif Thompson, of Irvington, and Newark residents Karif Ford, Basim Henry and Kevin Roberts are accused in the Dec. 15 carjacking and killing of Dustin Friedland outside The Mall at Short Hills.
Authorities have said Friedland, a 30-year-old lawyer from Hoboken, was killed while returning to his car in the mall parking garage with his wife, Jamie Schare Friedland, after a shopping trip. The carjackers confronted the couple and Friedland was shot in the head, but his wife was unharmed.