On a Sunday evening in November 2013, the life of 28-year-old Jose Disla-Cordero was brought to a violent end in his own home in Plainfield, New Jersey. On November 24th, police responded to a report of a shooting and discovered Disla-Cordero's body in the basement of his East Sixth Street residence. He had been shot multiple times.
The investigation that followed, a collaborative effort by multiple law enforcement agencies including the Union County Homicide Task Force and the FBI, began to unravel the events of that night. It was determined that a group of individuals, under the belief that Disla-Cordero had stolen from them, forced their way into his home. Inside the basement, they held two other adults at gunpoint while they carried out the fatal attack on Disla-Cordero, using three different handguns.
The evidence left at the scene, including numerous pieces of ballistics, was crucial in identifying those responsible.
Over the course of the next two years, investigators identified and apprehended the suspects. Three individuals, Alejandro Lopez, Mayrenid Hidalgo-Bautista, and Rodney Rosario, were arrested and ultimately stood trial for their roles in the murder. A fourth suspect reached a plea agreement, pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit murder before the trial began.
In October 2018, a Union County jury found Lopez, Hidalgo-Bautista, and Rosario guilty. Lopez and Rosario were convicted on multiple counts, including murder, felony murder, burglary, and weapons offenses. Hidalgo-Bautista was convicted of conspiracy to commit murder. In January 2019, the three were sentenced to a combined total of 140 years in state prison for their parts in the death of Jose Disla-Cordero.
