Quashan Faircloth, of Paterson, pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, conspiracy and criminal possession of a handgun last year. Watch video
PATERSON -- A city man's request to withdraw his guilty plea in the fatal shooting of a Wayne teen on his graduation day in June 2013 was rejected Thursday by a judge, The Record reported.
Quashan Faircloth, of Paterson, admitted last year that he shot and killed 18-year-old Isaac Rinas during a robbery in Paterson, and pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, conspiracy and criminal possession of a handgun, the newspaper reported.
Faircloth later claimed he accepted a plea offer because his attorney did not advise him properly of his rights, and that he did not get the opportunity to review all the evidence against him, the newspaper reported. Judge Marilyn Clark said in court Faircloth gave a detailed confession and she was not convinced that he hadn't been advised of his rights.
Authorities have said Rinas was set-up to be robbed by his 18-year-old classmate, Casey Cole. The alleged plan by Cole and Bishwa Cowan, 24, of Paterson, was to lure Rinas to a high-crime section of Paterson after Cole promised to help Rinas buy a gun. But the robbery went wrong when Rinas, who had graduated from Wayne Valley High School only hours earlier, arrived in his father's brand-new black Infiniti.
Cowan's friend, Faircloth, instead got into the car and robbed Rinas and Cole, authorities said. Faircloth allegedly shot Rinas in the neck at point-blank range as he and Cowan got out of the vehicle.
Cole called 911 after the shooting and pleaded with the dispatcher to save Rinas' life. Cole can be heard in the 911 recording telling Rinas to keep pressure on the gunshot wound.
This past January, The Record reported Cole had been offered a plea deal for a 26-year prison term. The plea offer calls for Cole to plead guilty to aggravated manslaughter and conspiracy to commit robbery, the newspaper reported at the time. He's currently charged with murder and felony murder and faces up to life in prison if he's convicted.
Justin Zaremba may be reached at jzaremba@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JustinZarembaNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.