15-Year Sentence For Killer Of Maplewood Teen Moussa Fofana

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Yohan Hernandez of Newark was sentenced on Wednesday to 15 years in prison for the 2021 fatal shooting of Moussa Fofana, then an 18-year-old junior at Columbia High School in Maplewood.

Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II announced the sentence Wednesday, delivered by Essex County Superior Court Judge Ronald Wigler.

Hernandez had pleaded guilty in September to aggravated manslaughter, aggravated assault, and the unlawful possession of a handgun in connection with the shooting of Fofana.

Numerous supporters and family members of the Fofana family had spoken out against the sentence, which they believed was too light.

Fofana, 18, was walking through Columbia High School's athletic field with a friend on the night of June 6, 2021 when he was shot to death by Hernandez, then 20, of Newark.

Under the No Early Release Act, Hernandez, now 21, must serve 85 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole.

He will probably face deportation after serving his sentence because he isn’t a U.S. citizen, said Wigler.

Wigler had accepted a plea deal for the 15-year sentence in September.

Hawa Fofana, Moussa Fofana's mother, said in court in September that a 15-year sentence would not be long enough.

At a rally in 2021, Hawa Fofana said, "We’re here today because this beautiful boy has passed on and we have not had justice since. We want justice for this beautiful boy."

Read prior reporting here.