The men accused of killing a New Jersey man in front of his terrified wife during a carjacking at an upscale mall drove to the alleged crime in a car owned by the mother of one of the suspects, according court papers.
Hanif Thompson, 29, Karif Ford, 31, Basim Henry, 32, and Kevin Roberts, 33, drove to The Mall at Short Hills on Dec. 15 in Henry's mother's Suburban, and that is one of the pieces of evidence that led investigators to the suspects, prosecutors said in a federal complaint.
Prosecutors announced the arrests of the men on Saturday, but did not elaborate at the time on how they were able to track down the four suspects.
The court document made public Monday says surveillance video from the mall showed the alleged carjackers arriving at the scene in the car registered to Henry's mother.
After the suspects shot Dustin Friedland in the head and took his Range Rover, two of the men fled in that car while the other two left in the original car owned by Henry's mother, with Henry driving, the complaint said.
Two days after the shooting, investigators tracked Henry's cell phone to a hotel in Easton, Pa., where he was arrested, authorities said. The other three were arrested in Newark and Irvington.
Prosecutors said the couple was targeted for their car.
"It was the car, not the person, that appears to be the target of this crime," Carolyn Murray, acting Essex County prosecutor, said Saturday.
The gun used to kill Friedland has not been recovered.
Bail for each of the suspects is set at $2 million, and all four are charged with murder, felony murder, carjacking, conspiracy, possession of a weapon and possession of a weapon for unlawful purpose.
It was not clear if the suspects had attorneys. They are expected to be arraigned Jan. 8.