Judge refuses to lower bail for alleged Mayfair tire slasher

Despite the kind words spoken about David Toledo by his mother, wife and attorney Thursday morning, a Philadelphia judge refused to reduce the Mayfair man's bail of more than $260,000. The judge also set July 12 as the date Toledo will be tried for allegedly slashing 47 his neighbors' car tires.

Municipal Judge Bradley K. Moss dismissed several felony charges because the dollar amount in damages in those cases was too small.

"While the defendant may have had ties to the community ... he was the same person that led the community to live in fear for two months," Assistant District Attorney Tracie Gaydos said in arguing to keep Toledo's bail in place.

She said seven of Toledo's neighbors within a two block radius of his home on Aldine Street had their tires slashed twice, and one woman was hit three times.

"To this two-block radius, he is extremely dangerous because he was holding himself out as someone who was protecting the community," she said, referring to the fact that Toledo, 44, was a member of the neighborhood watch group and he frequently spoke with the media about the slashings before his arrest last week.

All of the misdemeanor counts of criminal mischief and possession of an instrument of crime that Toledo is charged with happened between Jan. 13 and April 16, Gaydos said.

Defense attorney William Brennan had asked Moss to reduce his client's bail to $26,000 because of his ties to the community and lack of a serious prior criminal record.

"I understand this is not your average bear," Brennan said of the strange case. "But what has been set is tantamount to ransom. It's too high."

Later, he described the bail amount as "off the hook." Outside court, he said he was not surprised that the bail amount was not reduced, but believed the butcher would be able to pay it

To Toledo's neighbors Brennan said: "Afford Mr. Toledo the same type of patience that they would want afforded to themselves if they were charged. He's presumed innocent."

Contact Mensah M. Dean at 215-568-8278 or deanm@philly.com