Authorities recently charged a Hollister man with kidnapping in relation to a 1994 cold case robbery and sexual assault that occurred at a San Jose mall, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office.
The suspect, Thomas John Loguidice, 65, is currently serving a 40-year prison sentence for a 2012 conviction for sexually abusing a child in San Benito County.
In a Jan. 17 press release, Santa Clara County DA Jeff Rosen’s office said that Loguidice is now charged with kidnapping with the intent to commit robbery for his involvement in the Jan. 13, 1994 attack on a mall manager.
The DA’s Cold Case Unit discovered that DNA collected from the 1994 crime scene matched an offender profile in the Combined DNA Index System (CODIS), says the press release. That profile belonged to Loguidice, whose information is in CODIS due to his 2012 conviction in San Benito County.
The Santa Clara County Grand Jury on Dec. 14, 2022, charged Loguidice with a single count in relation to the 1994 cold case, says the press release. The grand jury also found that the crime involved the use of a deadly weapon, the threat of great bodily harm and a high degree of callousness.
Loguidice will be arraigned Jan. 18 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose. If convicted, he faces life in prison on top of the sentence he is currently serving, authorities said.
“We don’t forget victims and we don’t forgive violent crime,” Rosen said. “Our message to our community is that this office will use advancing DNA forensics, detective work and determination to seek justice. Our message to violent criminals is: ‘Don’t do it. You won’t get away with it.’”
On Jan. 13, 1994, the 21-year-old victim arrived at her workplace, President Tuxedo at Oakridge Mall, shortly before 10am to open the store, says the press release. The victim worked as the store’s acting manager.
As the victim opened the door and entered the store, Loguidice entered the showroom area and forced the woman into the back storage area at knifepoint, authorities said. He placed the victim on the ground, bound her wrists and tied her to a pipe. After taking a small amount of cash from the register in the showroom, Loguidice returned to the storage area and sexually assaulted the bound and restrained woman before fleeing on foot.
San Jose Police detectives exhausted several leads, and the case eventually went cold, according to the DA’s office.
Loguidice was not indicted for the 1994 sexual assault because the statute of limitations for that crime expired in 2000, authorities said.
In May 2011, San Benito County Sheriff’s deputies arrested Loguidice for sexually molesting a female victim younger than 14. Loguidice pleaded no contest to four counts of child molestation, along with allegations that he committed the same crime against more than one victim or against the same victim on multiple occasions, according to authorities.
In May 2012, a San Benito County judge sentenced Loguidice to 40 years in prison.
