Man Sentenced To 15 Years For North Jersey Teenager's Murder

WAYNE, N.J. — A Paterson man was sentenced Thursday to 15 years in prison for the fatally shooting a Wayne teenager on the night of his graduation from Wayne Valley High School three years ago.

Quashan Faircloth, 30, was initially charged with murder, but later plead guilty to aggravated manslaughter, conspiracy, and criminal possession of a handgun. He agreed to a maximum of 15 years in prison and must serve at least 13 years of the sentence before he is eligible for parole, according to a report on NorthJersey.com.

Faircloth said during his plead that he met with Bishma Cowan on June 26, 2013 and told him that “someone was about to get robbed,”; he was armed with a .380-caliber handgun when he slid into the back seat of the Infiniti Rinas was in with Casey Cole, the report said.

Rinas was in Paterson with Cole to purchase a gun, the prosecutor’s office said, when the case was first reported. Authorities said Cole planned the robbery by setting up Rinas with the fake gun purchase.

Authorities said that Faircloth robbed Cole and Rinas and had Cole get out of the car; as he got out of the car, Rinas surprised Faircloth and was shot in the neck; he and Cowan ran away and Faircloth threw the gun away after taking it apart, the repot said.

Rinas, who was adopted from Romania, died form the gunshot wound. Cole called 911 and told the dispatcher that his “friend just got shot — he’s dying.”

Cole, of Wayne, was charged with felony murder, robbery, and conspiracy to commit robbery. Cowan, 24, of Paterson, was charged with murder and robbery.

Cowan has pleaded guilty to a lesser charge and has agreed to testify against Cole.

Cole was offered a deal to plead guilty to aggravated manslaughter and serve a 26-year sentence. He is scheduled for a hearing next week, the report said.

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PHOTO: Isaac Rinas — Patch file photo