Matthew Masumi Toyotome

Matthew Masumi Toyotome
Threat Level	Tier 1 - White
Known Events Frequented	Anime LA
Approximate Location	Riverside, CA

Executive Summary

Matthew Masumi Toyotome is not considered a threat by Project Sauron at this time, however, his actions in January of 2019 were destructive enough that Project Sauron considers documenting them for reference purposes to be important.

Mr. Toyotome’s actions show that the eyes of convention and venue security MUST be watching all areas of the venue, at all times.

If you are short on time or do not have the ability/motivation to read beyond this point, the following Youtube video covers everything discussed in this KPT Entry:

(CW: this video not only discusses a violent crime but also discloses names of persons impacted by said crime)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7wakQuu0r8

(Credit to Youtuber DireTrip for giving his blessing to have his video linked here)

Recommended Handling Methods

None. At this time, Mr. Toyotome has been released on Probation by the State of California.

While it is unknown what the terms of said probation are, it is probably safe to assume that he is not permitted to visit a convention for quite some time.

Please contact us if Mr. Toyotome starts visiting conventions again and/or is witnessed to be engaging in similar behavior to what led to the incidents described below...please remember to contact law enforcement before contacting us.

Description

Mr. Toyotome was an amateur cosplayer from Riverside, CA, who, according to news articles, had an infatuation with one [Full Name Redacted] Jenkins, which developed while they were in the same cosplay group and filmed a Youtube series together.

No footage of this Youtube series seems to currently exist.

Sometime in late 2018, it seems that Mr. Toyotome revealed his feelings for Ms. Jenkins, and was rejected. This incident seems to have soured their platonic relationship as well, as the two cut contact sometime in November 2018.

News articles and witnesses to the incident say that Mr. Toyotome began to stalk Ms. Jenkins after this. Given the charges filed against Mr. Toyotome in court, it is assumed that a Temporary Restraining Order was filed against him some time before the incident in January 2019.

Fast forward to the early morning hours of January 13th, 2019, and according to a re-telling of the incident found on Youtube (shown in links at the bottom of the page), Mr. Toyotome approached Ms. Jenkins, asking for a date, and was rejected again.

It should be noted, however, that no news articles covering the incident seem to include this detail.

Soon afterwards, Mr. Toyotome is seen on a surveillance video in the venue parking lot smoking a cigarette, then kneeling under Ms. Jenkins’ car and pouring some sort of accelerant on the tires and undercarriage, setting it alight, then fleeing off-camera.

The fire would end up destroying seven vehicles.

After Ms. Jenkins identified Mr. Toyotome from surveillance footage, police apprehended Mr. Toyotome at his home in Riverside without incident.

Mr. Toyotome was charged with 1 count of stalking, 7 counts of arson, and two counts of stalking while under temporary restraining order. These crimes are all felonies under California law. Cash bail was set, as mentioned earlier, but no attempts at paying it seemed to have been made.

San Bernardino County court records before 2021 show that Mr. Toyotome’s case has been relatively active since January 2019. Initially, Mr. Toyotome pled “not guilty” to all 10 charges against him. A hearing to assess his mental state was held a few months after the incident. Several “pre-preliminary hearings” (a word taken directly from screenshots of public records) took place until in May of 2020, he entered into a plea deal with the prosecutor where he would plead “no contest” to one count of arson, and the two counts of stalking while under temporary restraining order.

It is believed, based on the records of the restitution hearing that took place on July 14th, 2020, that Mr. Toyotome will serve a short jail sentence, then serve 5 years of felony probation, and pay a fine.

As of 10/26/2021, looking up Mr. Toyotome's court records gives you only information on a traffic violation from 2012, meaning that all information pertaining to the more recent incident in 2019 (where he burned 7 cars because someone rejected him) has been sealed by the court.

This can mean a lot of things, however, given that the last known court records show that he was due to be released on a 5 year probation program in early 2021, it's very likely that the absence of public records in reference to the 2019 incident means that Mr. Toyotome is now not in the custody of the state of California and is instead on probation.

Comments on Youtube videos and social media posts concerning this incident seem to indicate that he was released sometime in February 2021.

We will continue to maintain a record of the aftermath of this incident due to its extreme nature.

Media Links

Nichibei article on the incident, mis-reports cash bail amount as one million USD

Surveillance footage of incident

Blog post on incident and Mr. Toyotome