Mesa PD Needs Help Identifying Attempted Sexual Assault Suspect

 

News Release

The Mesa Police Department is investigating an attempted sexual assault of a minor that occurred over the weekend and is asking for the public’s help in identifying the suspect. 

 

On February 3, 2024, just before 9:00 p.m., Mesa Police Officers responded to an apartment in the 300 block of N. 75th Street for an attempted sexual assault on a minor. The suspect had already left the area on foot and officers were unable to locate him. He is being described as a black male between the ages of 25–40 years old, standing 5ft 10in tall with a medium build. The suspect has a goatee style beard that is longer and thicker on the chin and dark spiky hair. He was last seen wearing a black hoodie with a white logo and dark pants. 

Composite Sketch of Suspect

 

The Mesa Police Department in conjunction with the Mesa Crime Lab have been working diligently on this case since Saturday night, canvassing the neighborhood and expediting forensic evidence, hoping for a break in the case. 

 

We need your help. If you have any information or think you may know who the suspect is, please call the Mesa Police Department at 480-644–2211. 

 

To our community, remember to lock all doors and windows. Turn on your residential outdoor lights. Stay vigilant, and if you see anything suspicious, call 911. 

 

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Carjacking Suspects Arrested

What should have been a simple transaction turned into much more for a mother and her seven-year-old daughter on a Wednesday afternoon in Mesa. After listing her car for sale on OfferUp, she met with a potential buyer at Wells Fargo Bank, located near Stapley and McKellips. While speaking to the buyer about the vehicle and sale price, she came face to face with a career criminal who pointed a gun at her and demanded she give him the vehicle.

The woman ran with her daughter, trying to escape what she thought was going to be the end of her life. Her daughter fell in the parking lot, scraping her knee in the process. Finally, they gained safety in the Wells Fargo Bank, just as the red 2021 Dodge Charger drove out of the parking lot with the gunman and potential buyer in the car.

Stolen Vehicle

The woman told Mesa police officers she had never seen the gunman or buyer before today, but did have the phone number that was used to inquire about the vehicle. The phone number belonged to 29-year-old Joseph Toledo. Officers obtained a location for the phone and responded to Banner Deer Valley Hospital, where they found the stolen vehicle unoccupied.

Using police databases, officers identified several addresses that Joseph Toledo might frequent throughout Phoenix. While stopping by each one, Toledo was eventually located traveling as a passenger in a vehicle. The Phoenix Police Department’s air support team assisted in following Toledo to the Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation & Reentry, where they finally found Toledo… checking in with his Parole Officer.

And the potential buyer from earlier? Officers found her in the driver’s seat of a vehicle parked outside and waiting for Toledo. She was identified as 23-year-old Iridiane Garcia. Garcia told officers the keys to the stolen vehicle were in her purse, right along with the gun Toledo used against the victim.

Both Toledo and Garcia were booked into jail for multiple felony charges to include Armed Robbery and Theft of Means of Transportation.

Iridiane Garcia

Joseph Toledo