On a Wednesday afternoon in Plainfield, New Jersey, 36-year-old Tamar S. Harris of Newark was going about his workday as a delivery driver, subcontracted by Amazon. It was shortly after 2:00 p.m. on September 8, 2021, and Harris was on the 200 block of Garfield Avenue, when his life was abruptly cut short. He was in the midst of a delivery when a man approached him just outside of his delivery van.
Plainfield Police Department officers responded to the scene to find Harris suffering from
a fatal gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the location. The incident prompted a joint investigation by the Union County Prosecutor's Office Homicide Task Force, the Plainfield Police Department, the Union County Police Department, and the Union County Sheriff's Office. Investigators were able to recover video evidence from the scene which played a crucial role in the case.
The investigation swiftly led to the identification of a suspect. Quahif Lane, a 26-year-old resident of Plainfield, was identified as the man who approached and fatally shot Harris. The day after the shooting, on Thursday afternoon, Lane was taken into custody without incident. He was subsequently charged with first-degree homicide and two related second-degree weapons offenses. Following his arrest, Lane was lodged in the Union County Jail.
