The Bergen Record

Lawyer seeks apology after plea offer rescinded

3 accused in slaying of honor student

One of the attorneys for the men involved in the 2019 shooting death of Paterson honor student Robert Cuadra is demanding an apology from the court after the Prosecutor’s Office rescinded its plea offer.

In a hearing before state Superior Court Judge Sohail Mohammed on Jan. 29, Harley Breite said the move to rescind the 10-year plea deal erodes his client’s trust. Breite represents Kahaz

Heron, one of the three men arrested in Cuadra’s death.

He called the Passaic County Prosecutor’s Office’s move “reprehensi­ble.”

Cuadra, 18, was fatally shot in the head while ducking for cover behind his car while taking groceries to his grandmothe­r’s house in January 2022. He was caught in the crossfire of a gang shootout. The shooting was caught on video.

Heron and two others, Jahad Jones and Jaquin Williams, were charged in the killing.

Breite said he and Chief Assistant Prosecutor Allan Nawrocki had engaged in plea negotiatio­ns and his client had signed the plea agreement but then found out from Heron that the plea had been rescinded. According to Breite, the Prosecutor’s Office had the signed plea forms for at least two to three weeks.

“I’ve been trying to resolve this case since day one,” Breite told the court. “The victim’s mother knows my client didn’t shoot anybody. She said so publicly.”

Around the second anniversar­y of her son’s death, Ivernis Santiago told NorthJerse­y.com the 10-year plea deal wasn’t “justice” for Cuadra. But she also acknowledg­es that the shot that killed her son was not fired by Jones, Heron or Williams.

She said whoever fired the shot was in the group with the trio but none of them have wanted to identify that person.

Nawrocki told the court that he is not the one who has the ultimate decision when it comes to plea deals. He said he submitted the proposed offer to the prosecutor, who did not accept it.

“There is nothing I can say about it,” Nawrocki said.

Williams’ attorney, Nicholas Patullo, didn’t speak to the rescinding of the plea deal but did note he agreed with what Briete said. During the hearing, Breite said he had to discuss a new plea offer with his client.

Nawrocki did not immediatel­y return a call regarding the rescinded plea and the new plea.

The next court date is scheduled for April 23 at the Passaic County Courthouse.