TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The prosecutor in a Hillsborough County murder case was not alerted the defendant jumped bail until several hours after he allegedly cut off an electronic monitoring device and fled.
Enrique Toledo, 54, was arrested last July for allegedly shooting his wife, Heather Toledo, 37, in their Valrico home while the couple’s three children were nearby.
The victim’s brother, Stephen Green, and sister-in-law, Michelle found out Toledo was on the run a short time before a hearing on a motion to revoke his bail for allegedly violating a court order by texting one of his children.
The text was included in the motion and ended with Toledo telling the child, “Don’t keep this message.”
The Greens, who now have custody of the Toledos’ children, said investigators told them his ankle monitor was removed around 9 p.m. the night before the hearing. The prosecutor was not informed Toledo was on the run until about 90 minutes before the hearing, which never happened, according to the Hillsborough County State Attorney’s office.
“It was a 14-hour delay. That’s a long delay,” Michelle Green said. “You can make it to Texas in 14 hours, and make it to the border if you’re trying to go somewhere. He’s going to get away with it.”
Roche Monitoring Services supplied Toledo’s ankle bracelet, but company vice president Ken Berke said the manufacturer of the device was in charge of monitoring it.
According to Berke, four people, including a sheriff’s office detective and the prosecutor, were supposed to be notified as soon as the signal from the device was interrupted.
“[The manufacturer is] still researching who was notified and when,” Berke said. “And, if notifications did not go out, why.”
Berke also said there was an attempt to notify Detective Michael Gabot, but the detective’s name was misspelled in the email address, according to Berke.
Sometime in the hours after learning Toledo was a fugitive, the State Attorney filed a motion seeking an arrest warrant. None of the agencies involved in the case issued a news release to notify the public about the development.
The Greens say they are frustrated Toledo got at least a 14-hour head start, and fear he might return.
“It is daily, especially with not knowing anything,” Michelle Green said. “We are constantly checking, making sure that we’re always with the girls. No one’s by themselves.”
Green was also surprised by a call she received from the Florida Department of Children and Families after an 8 On Your Side story about Toledo aired.
She said they alerted her that Toledo was on the run.
“They apparently didn’t know about it,” Green said. “I guess they thought we didn’t know.”
Green said she is not optimistic Toledo will be brought to justice.
“I do feel like he’s going to leave the country and we’ll never find him and there will never be justice for heather,” Green said. “And there will never be justice for her girls. I just hope they fix this so it doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Green said the sheriff’s office agreed to provide extra patrols in her neighborhood at night. She said she requested an extra presence during the day and at night.
This article was corrected to indicate the manufacturer of the ankle bracelet was in charge of monitoring the device.
