ST. GEORGE, Utah, Feb. 25, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A 20-year-old man is being held without bail after police say he posted a Facebook marketplace ad for Nike Air Jordan shoes, then robbed the 13-year-old boy who responded.
The two agreed to meet near the boy’s residence at about 10 a.m. Feb. 19, a Sunday.
The suspect is Jose Daniel Vazquez Mendoza, his charging documents say.
“The juvenile had responded to a Facebook Marketplace ad where the suspect(s) had posted several pairs of shoes for sale. The juvenile then contacted one of the suspects and proceeded to interact with them regarding an alleged sale of shoes.
“In order to barter with the suspect, the juvenile offered to sell his shoes which were a different style of Jordans. The juvenile was also in possession of $200 and his parent was aware of the transaction that was going to take place.
“Upon meeting with the suspect, one of the suspect’s confronted the juvenile and took the shoes out of his hand and shoved him to the ground. The suspect, taking the shoes and the $200 contained inside them, then ran back to the vehicle he had arrived in as the juvenile male ran to his house.”
The boy told St. George police the suspect had used the name “Jose Asquez” on the advertisement, and that the man who robbed him was a blue Ford passenger car with a missing door handle. The juvenile also stated that there were several other people in the car,” the suspect’s affidavit says.
“Based on the vehicle description and the Facebook account user-name, it was believed that Jose Vazquez Mendoza was the suspect. On Feb. 23rd, Jose’s vehicle was located at an apartment complex.”
The SGPD officer noted “the vehicle did, indeed, have a missing door handle on the front passenger-side door. While watching the apartment, the vehicle left from the apartment complex. I could see a female driving the car and I saw that Jose was the front passenger.”
Officers made a traffic stop, and the driver, said to be the suspect’s girlfriend, “allowed access to the apartment they had left from and which she states is her apartment. Upon searching the apartment, the juvenile victim’s shoes were located inside a closet. The money was not found.”
When questioned, Vazquez Mendoza “admitted to being in the vehicle during the robbery of the juvenile, but claimed another male named ‘A.P.’ orchestrated the whole thing,” his probable cause statement says.
“He also said that the incident was gang related, as the juvenile had allegedly pointed a gun at Jose’s aunt, and A.P. wanted to contact the juvenile because of it. Jose stated that the whole thing stems from a back and forth fight between two known local ‘gangs’ called GBN and their rivals, the GBN Killers.
“These are the gangs of mostly juveniles that have been burglarizing and
stealing cars, shooting at houses, stealing guns, assaulting each other, and other felonious activities.”
Vazquez Mendoza “also admitted that the shoes didn’t fit anyone so they were left on his car seat. He then took them into his apartment and put them in his closet.”
After being arrested, the suspect was searched, and “admitted that he
had an ‘oxy’ on him. This was located rolled up in the leg of his sweatpants, of which he had two pairs of sweatpants on under his jeans.”
“Based on this information, Jose was arrested for possession of a controlled substance, possession of stolen property, and robbery with a gang enhancement.”
Vazquez Mendoza was booked into Washington County’s jail, the Purgatory Correctional Facility, on suspicion of:
- Robbery, a first-degree felony
- Possession of controlled substances schedule I/II/analog, a class A misdemeanor
- Theft by receiving stolen property, a class B misdemeanor
Vazquez Mendoza was ordered held without bail.
