Jury Buys Unusual Legal Defense: Man Was Passed Out on PCP and Unaware He Possessed Gun

One of the accused men in a fatal 2013 carjacking at The Mall at Short Hills beat an unrelated gun possession charge with an unusual legal defense… he was passed out on PCP at the time of his arrest.

On Wednesday, a jury cleared Karif Ford, 33, of an unlawful possession of a weapon charge that was filed about nine months prior to the murder of Hoboken attorney Dustin Friedland. [See related Patch article]

According to a NJ.com report, the weapons incident took place when two residents of Newark saw Ford stagger onto their lawn and pass out around 9 p.m. and called 911.

When Newark police arrived on the scene, an officer went to check if Ford was breathing and found a loaded handgun sticking out of his pocket.

A doctor later determined that Ford was intoxicated on PCP at the time, according to court documents.

However, Ford’s attorney charged that because Ford was passed out at the time, he did not “knowingly possess the weapon” – a key component of the charge - and must be acquitted.

According to the report, Ford’s attorney told jurors:

“If you find that my client was unable to know, because he passed out on the lawn, what was going on, then your obligation is to find him not guilty.”

Ford and the other three accused men in the 2013 carjacking murder – Hanif Thompson, Basim Henry and Kevin Roberts - are currently being held at the Essex County Correctional Facility in lieu of $2 million bail each.