Alleged Mall Carjacking Getaway Driver Appears in Court

By Melinda Stevens

Basim Henry, who was apprehended Saturday in Pennsylvania for his alleged role in a fatal carjacking in New Jersey, appeared in federal court Monday as part of a procedural hearing to turn him over to local authorities, NJ.com reported. 

Court documents identified Henry as the getaway driver following a Dec. 15 Short Hills Mall carjacking that left 30-year-old Hoboken lawyer Dustin Friedland dead.

Hanif Thompson, 29, of Irvington and Karif Ford, 31; Henry, 32; and Kevin Roberts, 33, of Newark were taken into custody late Friday or early Saturday morning. Thompson, Roberts and Ford were arrested in their New Jersey residences and Henry was arrested at a hotel in Palmer Township by federal agents. 

The four defendants will be arraigned on Jan. 8 at 9 a.m. before Judge Peter J. Vazquez, according to the Essex County Prosecutor's Office.

All four men have been charged with murder, felony murder, carjacking, conspiracy and weapons possession. Henry is also accused of violating the conditions of a supervised release that prohibited him leaving the state. Henry was convicted in 2006 for bank robbery.

Court documents released by the New Jersey U.S. Attorney's Office say a vehicle registered to Henry's mother was driven to the scene.

Friedland and his wife were carjacked for their Range Rover upon returning to their vehicle after an evening of shopping.

Bail was set at $2 million for each defendant by Superior Court Judge Michael L. Ravin.