This browser does not support the Video element.
MESA, Ariz. - Mesa Police officials say two people have been arrested, following a carjacking incident that began as a car sale.
In a statement posted to Mesa Police's website on Jan. 18, officials identified the two people arrested as 29-year-old Joseph Toledo and 23-year-old Iridiane Garcia.
The incident, according to investigators, happened on Jan. 17, when a mother and her seven-year-old daughter met with a potential car buyer, later identified as Garcia, at a bank near Stapley and McKellips. The mother had listed her car, identified by police as a 2021 red Dodge Charger, on an online sales platform prior to the incident.
The woman, police say, had a gun pointed at her as she spoke with the supposed car buyer about the car and the sale price. That person, which police identified as Toledo, then demanded that the woman give him the vehicle. The woman then ran away with her daughter, and as they got to safety, the car in question was driven out of the parking lot with Toledo and Garcia inside.
This browser does not support the Video element.
Mesa carjacking suspects arrested
Mesa Police officials say two people have been arrested, following a carjacking incident that began as a car sale.
Mesa Police officials say the phone number used to make inquiries about the car belonged to Toledo. Officials also say Toledo and the victims did not know each other prior to the incident.
"Officers obtained a location for the phone and responded to Banner Deer Valley Hospital, where they found the stolen vehicle unoccupied," read a portion of the statement.
Eventually, investigators say they followed Toledo to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry, where he was checking in with his parole officer.
(Photo Courtesy: Mesa Police Department)
Garcia, according to police, was found waiting for Toledo in the driver's set of a car that was parked outside the ADCRR.
"Garcia told officers the keys to the stolen vehicle were in her purse, right along with the gun Toledo used against the victim," read a portion of the statement.
According to police, both Toledo and Garcia are accused of committing multiple felony offenses, including armed robbery and theft of means of transportation.
Joseph Toledo (left) and Iridiane Garcia (right)