Essex Prosecutor Addresses Rumored Plea Deal For Maplewood Teen's Accused Killer

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — The Essex County Prosecutor's Office released a statement on Thursday as the family of slain Maplewood teen Moussa Fofana prepared to protest a purported plea deal offered to the teen's accused murderer.

Fofana was shot to death at a school athletic field on the night of June 6, 2021.

In August 2021, a 20-year-old Newark man was charged with his murder.

Last month, Fofana's mother Hawa Fofana told the media that she has heard that the accused killer, Yohan Hernandez, has been offered a plea deal of 15 years.

On Thursday, Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore N. Stephens II released a statement:

"The Essex County Prosecutor’s Office has consistently approached the cases presented to us by following the law and the facts. The tragic homicide of young Moussa Fofana was handled in the same way.

"Consistent with that approach, we have been mindful of the importance of keeping the family, through their counsel, informed of all important aspects of this case and have afforded them their right to offer meaningful input that we have considered in formulating the proposed plea. Based on the experience and expertise this office possesses, it is our considered opinion that all efforts to resolve this matter have been undertaken keeping all the above in mind."

The office offered no further comment.

A column in NJ.com on Wednesday said that Fofana was told by prosecutors last month that Hernandez would be offered the deal.

Supporters have started a petition against the rumored deal. The petition had garnered more than 900 signatures by Thursday.

The Protest

Supporters of the Fofana family, including Maplewood Mayor Dean Dafis and South Orange Village President Sheena Collum, planned to march on Thursday night from Columbia High School to Maplewood Town Hall to protest.

Hernandez faces a hearing on Sept. 22 in front of an Essex County court judge.

Former Maplewood Mayor Fred Profeta — who helped to raise more than $50,000 in reward money toward the capture of Fofana’s murderer – said this week, “The prosecutor has agreed to ask for a ridiculously low prison term of 15 years. The community is outraged.”

According to the march's organizers, at a virtual arraignment for Hernandez in August 2021, "His attorney claimed that Hernandez shot Fofana in self-defense, after Fofana and a friend allegedly chased Hernandez’s younger brother at Underhill Sports Complex in Maplewood on the night of June 6."

Friends had said that Fofana and his schoolmate had been crossing the field to go watch a boxing match at another friend's house.

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Read prior reporting here.