Verdict for getaway driver in deadly N.J. mall carjacking
NEWARK, N.J. -- A jury has convicted a man of murder in the first trial stemming from a carjacking at an upscale New Jersey mall in which the victim was gunned down in front of his wife for their Range Rover.
Basim Henry stood and watched as he was pronounced guilty on all counts Friday.
Prosecutors say Henry was among four men involved in the December 2013 carjacking and fatal shooting of Dustin Friedland at The Mall At Short Hills in Millburn. They say Henry served as the getaway driver.
Friedland’s wife Jamie had testified about the shooting and described seeing her husband struggling with two men in the parking deck before he was shot.
“I just knew, I knew when I turned around, I knew what I was going to see,” she said, crying. “I turned around and I saw Dustin laying there in a pool of blood and I ran over to him.”
The woman described her attempt to save her husband.
“I leaned down, I was on the floor and I was covered in his blood and he was covered in his blood and I held my hand to his head and I am screaming, I was screaming ‘Stay with me, stay with me,’” Friedland said.
She said her husband’s eyes were following her and she believes he heard her. The man later died.
The defense had argued that Henry wasn’t responsible for the shooter’s actions. But prosecutors said Henry “knew force was necessary” to get the vehicle.