Moussa Fofana
MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Friends, family and #JusticeForMoussa supporters of Maplewood teenager Moussa Fofana, who was shot and killed at Underhill Field in June 2021, are planning a protest march from Columbia High School to Maplewood Town Hall in response to a reported plea deal in the case of his alleged murderer. The protest will be held Thursday, Sept. 15, beginning at 5:30 p.m.
Protesters will gather at the entrance to Columbia High School, 17 Parker Ave. in Maplewood, and then proceed, with Maplewood police escort, along Kensington Terrace to Oakland Road to Valley Street, ending at Maplewood Town Hall where the towns’ leadership will address the crowd.
Maplewood Mayor Dean Dafis and South Orange Village President Sheena Collum will speak about the proposed 15-year sentence and how they feel the system is failing to provide justice for Moussa. A hearing on the plea deal is scheduled on Sept. 22. Former Maplewood Mayor Fred Profeta, who helped to raise more than $50,000 in reward money toward the capture and arrest of Fofana’s murderer, will also speak.
“This was an intentional murder. The penalty for intentional murder is 30 years to life,” Profeta said. “But the prosecutor has agreed to ask for a ridiculously low prison term of 15 years. The community is outraged.”
Moussa’s mother, Hawa Fofana, will be among the marchers and speakers.
Moussa, an 18-year-old 11th-grader at Columbia High School, was murdered the night of June 6, 2021, at Underhill Field, less than a mile from the school. Yohan Hernandez, 20, of Newark, was arrested and charged with the murder in August 2021. At a virtual arraignment later that month, his attorney claimed that Hernandez shot Fofana in self-defense, after Fofana and a friend allegedly chased Hernandez’s younger brother.
Information on letter writing and a petition for signing will be available at Maplewood Town Hall.
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