Crime & Safety
Bloomfield Man Convicted Of Taking Drugs With Runaways
Cosme now exposed to four years in prison on probation violation.
By Justin Muszynski, The Bristol Press
June 15, 2022
A Bloomfield man convicted of using drugs with two teenagers who ran away from a Plainville group home is exposed to four years behind bars on his violation of probation charge.
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Jose Cosme, 37, is scheduled to appear next week in New Britain Superior Court on charges of first-degree failure to appear and violation of probation. He has pleaded not guilty to the failure to appear, while he has denied the probation violation allegations, court records show.
Cosme is being held on $50,000 bond in the probation violation case – where he faces as many as four years in prison on the violation alone. He has also been accused of failing to appear in court to answer the violation.
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Cosme has also been charged with home invasion, first-degree assault and disorderly conduct stemming from a Hartford arrest in February.
The 37-year-old is on probation after pleading guilty in May 2018 to one felony count of risk of injury to a minor. He was sentenced to a year in prison, followed by three years of probation, with four years of prison time hanging over his head.
In the risk of injury matter, police said two girls, who were ages 16 and 14 at the time, ran away from a Plainville group home on Dec. 23, 2016. They were considered high-risk runaways because they had previously been victims of human trafficking, police said.
The girls met Cosme in Hartford and went with him to a Bristol home, where the three allegedly took Molly - methylenedioxy-methamphetaminea (MDMA) - a psychoactive drug that alters one's mood and perception.
According to the warrant, the 16-year-old girl at some point left Cosme, and the 14-year-old and was later found in Middletown on Dec. 30, 2016. The 14-year-old girl allegedly remained with Cosme for nearly two weeks. During that time, police said, he ignored a phone call and voice mail from police after officers received information indicating he could be with the missing teen.
Justin Muszynski can be reached at 860-973-1809 or jmuszynski@bristolpress.com.
