Crime & Safety

Widow Of Toms River Native Killed In Mall Carjacking Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit

Jamie Schare Friedland sues the mall's owners, the shopping center's security company and the Millburn first aid squad.

The widow of a Toms River native killed in December during a carjacking at The Mall at Short Hills has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the owners of the shopping complex, the mall's security company and the rescue squad that took 20 minutes to reach her dying husband.

Jamie Schare Friedland filed the lawsuit this week in State Superior Court in Newark for an unspecified amount of damages for the death of her husband, Dustin Friedland, a Hoboken attorney who was gunned down when the couple returned to their Range Rover at about 9 p.m. on Dec. 15, 2013.

The lawsuit, which was first reported Friday by The Star-Ledger, alleges the mall's owners, Michigan-based Taubman Centers, should have known the upscale mall was a prime target for carjackings and should have taken appropriate precautions.

The lawsuit, filed by Nagel, Rice, LLP of Roseland, cites the high rate of carjackings in Essex County, including four incidents at the mall, and the shopping center's proximity to major highways as risks the mall ignored when it stopped hiring more security personnel to save money.

"Despite these repeated incidents, and the grave threat posed to its shoppers and patrons, several years ago the mall ceased hiring police officers to produce security at the mall, citing budgetary concerns," the lawsuit reads. "In order to increase profits, the owners and operators of the mall elected to provide reduced security for its shoppers, patrons and invitees."

The lawsuit also names California-based Universal Protection Services LLC, which provides security services to the mall, and the Millburn First Aid Squad.

According to the lawsuit, the first aid squad "took an extended and excessive period of time" to reach Friedland after the first 911 call was made. The lawsuit claims the ambulance not being able to fit into the parking garage was one of the factors to the delay that should have been foreseen.

The ambulance's response time was initially questioned when 911 recordings were released in January of a frantic Jamie Friedland pleading for help. Additional 911 recordings revealed confusion where the ambulance was prior to arriving at the parking garage.

H. Steven Roth, the 2013 president of the Millburn-Short Hills Volunteer First Aid Squad, has called media reports "wrong" that stated it took 30 minutes for the ambulance to reach the parking garage.

However, Roth confirmed Millburn Police Chief Gregory Weber's timeline of events following the shooting, stating the ambulance arrived at the parking garage at 9:24 p.m. Weber said the ambulance reached the scene 18 minutes after the shooting and Friedland was headed to the hospital at 9:31 p.m.

It still remains unclear what took the ambulance the nearly 20 minutes to arrive on the scene.

Friedland died at 11:45 p.m. that night at Morristown Medical Center.

Four Essex County men were arrested a week later for Friedland's death. Karif Ford, 31, Basim Henry, 32, and Kevin Roberts, 35 of Newark; and Hanif Thompson, 29, of Irvington, were charged with murder, felony murder, carjacking, conspiracy, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose.

All four men, who pleaded not guilty, have criminal records.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.