By Walter Elliott
MAPLEWOOD – Authorities announced that they have a suspect in Moussa Fofana’s murder and the wounding of a fellow Columbia High School classmate Aug. 6 – two months to the day after the evening shooting here at the Underhill Sports Complex.
Acting Essex County Prosecutor Theodore “Ted” Stephens II and Maplewood Police Chief Jim DeVaul said that Thursday that their officers had arrested Yohan Hernandez, 20, of Newark, Aug. 5. Neither Stephens nor DeVaul would say how Hernandez was arrested or what made the Newarker a suspect.
Hernandez is being held in Newark’s Essex County Correctional Facility on a count each of purposeful murder, attempted aggravated assault to cause serious bodily injury, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and possession of a handgun without a permit.
Hernandez is accused of shooting Fofana, 18, and a second student-athlete while on the Underhill Field grounds at 9:39 p.m. June 6.
One man, a CHS football linebacker, was treated at Newark’s University for “non-life-threatening gunshot wounds” and was released a few days later.
Fofana, a CHS junior and member of the Cougars soccer team, was declared dead at the scene at 10:24 p.m.
Mother Hawa Fofana had enrolled Moussa into Maplewood Middle School after they both settled here in 2014. Although Moussa was born in New York City, he had lived with his grandfather in Liberia for six years.
The loss of the affable soccer player caused the two-town community to raise more than $50,000 as a reward for information of the shooter – five times greater than what the Essex County Sheriff’s Office crimestoppers.com usually posts.
At least two “Justice for Moussa” rallies and marches were held in June and July. Officials – including Maplewood Mayor Frank McGehee – have consistently reassured the public that Moussa’s murder care was the ECPO and MPD’s top priority.
Stephens and DeVaul’s arrest announcement from the former’s Newark office brought a wave of relief that rippled through the Maplewood-South Orange community and was felt as far away as Monrovia, Liberia.
“Today’s arrest is the beginning of justice for Moussa,” said Mayor McGehee that Thursday afternoon. “I’m thankful that Ms. Fofana can start to have true closure and my thoughts are very much with her at this time. When we spoke earlier today, she was in good spirits. As a community, we’ll continue our efforts to support Ms. Fofana and her family.”
Dr. Robert Taylor, Superintendent of the South Orange-Maplewood School District, echoed that “sigh of relief” in his Aug. 9 statement. He also thanked the two-town community as well as law enforcement “to see that justice is served for Moussa.
“We thank our South Orange and Maplewood communities: our District staff, students and families; township officials, former Mayor Fred Profeta, and the Board of Education for their support and rallying cry on behalf of the Fofana family.,” said Taylor.
The SOMSD superintendent also thanked the Stephens and the ECPO, DeVaul and the MPD, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura and his officers, FBI-Newark Office and Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch, Jr. and Acting US Attorney Rachel A. Honig and the US Attorney’s Office-New Jersey District “for their support and commitment.”
Hawa Fofana also issued the following Aug. 6 statement: “My family felt a great sense of relief this afternoon upon learning of the arrest in the shooting death of our beloved son. We would like to express our gratitude to law enforcement and to our entire community for their commitment to justice over the last couple of months.”
Hernandez’s arrest, however, has left a string of questions that may only be answered while the case progresses.
Authorities would not say whether the $50,000 reward, $10,000 of which was donated by Profeta, helped detectives find Hernandez.
“The investigation is ongoing,” said ECPO spokeswoman Katherine Carter, “but, during the course of this investigation, we received information and leads from the community.”
It is too early to know whether Hernandez’s arrest will lead to more arrests. Several neighbors and witnesses around Underhill Field said they saw “several juveniles running” after shots were fired.
Whether Hernandez had allegedly targeted Moussa Fofana and/or his classmate – or if the bullets were meant for someone else or no one – is another open question. It is not known as of press time whether Hernandez has found a lawyer.
The SOMSD-owned Underhill Sports Complex is meanwhile getting its security system upgraded. Dr. Taylor, who announced changes to Underhill’s security and access July 7, did not specify what the revamping entails.
Underhill neighbors have noticed that its field lights and pathway lights are on all night. Its gates have been locked since July 17 to all except student-athletes in the presence of their coaches.
The work at Underhill comes at the same time that new double-wide classroom trailers have appeared at the nearby Clinton Elementary School. The trailers are part of a district-wide renovation and expansion of its elementary schools paid for by a recent bond issue.
The school renovations and the Underhill security revamping are SOMSD separate projects.
A petition on Change.org is still taking signatures to prompt the two-town school board to rename Underhill as Moussa Fofana Sports Complex.
A Gofundme.com page is also taking donations towards Moussa’s funeral expenses.
