"Gotta Have It" Bandit In Custody
February 3, 2012
On February 1, 2012 at 7:00pm, the "Gotta Have It" bandit was
taken into custody in Mesa. The suspect, James T. Sloan, is
believed to be responsible for eleven armed robberies, mostly in
the east valley. The robberies were in Mesa, Tempe, Chandler and
Phoenix.
Detectives from Mesa PD and Tempe PD, working with information
from various sources, had identified Sloan as a possible
suspect. Using the information, Sloan was located and taken into
custody on West Inglewood in Mesa. After the arrest, Sloan was
transported to the Mesa Police Headquarters where he was
interviewed. During the interview, Sloan admitted involvement in
all eleven of the robberies.
Sloan was booked for 4 counts of armed robbery and 2
counts of attempted armed robbery in Mesa. The charges for the
additional robberies will be filed by the other respective
cities where the crimes were committed.
This arrest is another great example of law enforcement agencies
working together to take a violent felon off the streets.