David Toledo
The man known as the Mayfair Tire Slasher moved out of the neighborhood where he vandalized the unattended vehicles of more than a dozen neighbors in 2012, but he couldn’t escape his propensity for petty destruction.
On April 21, David Toledo admitted in court that he tried to damage another parked car in the Northeast neighborhood where he moved to flee his former neighbors’ ire. Toledo, 47, pleaded guilty to three misdemeanor charges stemming from an episode last November when he placed a glue strip and some nails beneath the tire of a vehicle parked on the 1600 block of Creston St. in Oxford Circle.
Toledo and his wife had moved to that block around the time he was arrested and convicted for puncturing the tires of 15 cars in the area of Cottman and Frankford avenues in early 2012. The couple lived on Aldine Street at the time of the earlier vandalism.
In the latest case, Toledo targeted an employee of the nearby SEPTA bus depot who had parked his car on Creston Street. It was before dawn on Nov. 19 and the worker had shown up early for his shift. As he sat in his car listening to sports talk radio, he saw Toledo walking his dog and carrying what appeared to be a piece of litter.
Toledo approached the car and placed the litter near a rear tire, authorities say. The debris turned out to be a glue strip mousetrap with sharp objects stuck to it. A second SEPTA worker witnessed the incident from a separate vehicle.
The employees didn’t recognize Toledo as the “Mayfair Tire Slasher,” but police discovered his identity when they searched his home on the block and found evidence implicating him. Investigators also interviewed other SEPTA workers, who reported finding dozens of nails and screws strewn on the street repeatedly during the previous weeks. The employees collected the objects and kept them in a jar at the depot.
Toledo is facing possible prison time when Common Pleas Court Judge Edward C. Wright sentences him on July 6. Toledo got off with two years probation on his last conviction. Prosecutors had argued for five to 10 years behind bars. Toledo will have to answer for the new convictions, as well as violating probation in the old case.
Toledo remains in custody at the city’s Detention Center on a judge’s detainer and has been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation. ••
