Hudson County Prosecutor Wayne Mello has announced that a Georgia man has been charged in connection with a cold case homicide that occurred in Bayonne in 1989.
62-year old Joseph Quiros-Soto has been charged with murder and murder during the commission of a burglary. He was arrested at his residence in Griffin, Georgia, on Wednesday, May 27, 2026, by the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office. He is being detained in Georgia pending extradition to New Jersey.
According to Prosecutor Mello, on August 9, 1989, the Bayonne Police Department was notified of a home invasion and shooting in an apartment at 438 Avenue C. Responding officers located a male victim – later identified as Mauricio Cuadra, 48, of Bayonne – who had been shot by an unknown male who entered the residence. Cuadra was pronounced deceased a short time after the shooting.
Prosecutor Mello credited the Homicide Unit, the Locust Grove Police Department in Georgia, and the Spalding County Sheriff’s Office with the investigation and arrest. The above charges are merely accusations and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.