TACOMA, Wash. — A judge has granted a request for a mental health evaluation for a Tacoma man accused of causing thousands of dollars in damage at two local car dealerships after police found him covered in blood early Thursday morning.
Tacoma police arrested Joshua Valdez, 40, at Gene Pankey Motor Company on South Tacoma Way early Thursday morning after finding him covered in blood in the parking lot.
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Police believe Valdez is responsible for smashing windows and damaging 10 vehicles across two dealerships, with damage estimated at more than $18,000.
“Our back entryway here was broken, glass was broken, glass throughout the inside, a lot of our doors were kicked in,” Dominic Adams, the owner of Gene Pankey Motor Company, said.
According to court records, during the arrest, officers said Valdez told them, “There’s a guy trying to kill me, so I came here, took a rock, busted the window, and went in to look for a key for the Tesla.”
Court records also show Valdez was released from prison in December after serving a sentence of just over a year in a previous case from April 2025 in which he reportedly tried to steal a car and then threatened to bomb a bank on Union Avenue in Tacoma, prompting a large police response. Records say bank employees evacuated and locked Valdez inside as officers surrounded the building, entering when they saw he had set a fire inside.
Valdez was ordered to have a mental health evaluation in that earlier case, according to records. He later ended up back behind bars about three months after his release from prison.
Records also show Valdez has prior convictions out of California for vandalism, burglary, and taking a motor vehicle.
In court Friday, there was a request for Valdez to undergo a mental health evaluation to determine whether he is able to stand trial in the latest case. He will be held without bail until he can be evaluated.
Valdez is facing new felony charges of malicious mischief, burglary, and attempted theft of a motor vehicle.