TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) —The murder defendant who took off hours before a December hearing to potentially revoke his bail also owes $12.5 million for a wrongful death judgment tied to a nursing home he owned.
Enrique Toledo, 54, was arrested last July for allegedly shooting his wife Heather in their Freeland Drive home in front of their oldest child while their other two children were in a nearby room.
Heather Toledo, 37, was shot to death about five months after she and her husband were sued by the daughter of Maritza Jackson. Jackson died from an infection in 2021 shortly after she moved out of the Toledo’s now-defunct Brandon nursing home.
Boca Raton based attorney Will Sarubbi filed the lawsuit against the Toledos and A Place to Grow, LLC, but the case against Heather Toledo was voluntarily dismissed.
“We specifically alleged that Mr. Toledo grossly understaffed the assisted living facility,” Sarubbi said. “He did not put enough people on staff. Instead, he took the resources and money away from the facility that was intended for Ms. Jackson.”
Heather Toledo’s brother and sister-in-law, Stephen and Michelle Green, currently have custody of the couple’s children.
They criticized the decision to release Toledo on $150,000 bail and an electronic monitoring device. Toledo allegedly cut off the ankle bracelet about 14 hours before the hearing to revoke his bail for violating an order not to contact his children.
8 On Your Side reviewed Hillsborough County’s first-degree murder records since the start of 2020. Of the 126 cases, 10 involved bail of $150,000 or lower. Seventy-one of 126 defendants—nearly 60%—were held without bail.
Gary Weisman, Chief of Staff for the Hillsborough County State Attorney said the prosecution wanted a higher bond
Michelle Green said she hopes the civil judgment will help invigorate the search for the accused killer.
“It was another life as well. I hope that it heightens the search,” Green said. “I hope that him being found guilty of something else heightens the search.”
Sarubbi said his client’s family also hopes the two cases involving Toledo will somehow lead to his arrest.
“My heart goes out to the Toledo family and everyone that’s impacted,” Sarubbi said. “It would absolutely please the Jackson family to make sure that everything is being done to hold Mr. Toledo accountable whether it’s in civil court or criminal court.”
Sarubbi said his team is conducting a forensic analysis of Toledo’s assets, but he added the case was not about money for Jackson’s daughter.
“She did not come to us for any monetary gain,” Sarubbi said. “The sole purpose of why she called me and why she sought out my firm Senior Justice was to make sure this didn’t happen to someone else.”
Green said every day Toledo is free is difficult for her family.
“We have no idea where he is,” Green said. “We have no idea if he’s five miles away or 50-thousand miles away or across the water.”
