Thomas Jodry fell from a SLO parking garage 5 years ago. Where does his case stand?
Editor’s note: This story mentions suicide.
It’s been five years since 21-year-old Thomas Jodry fell to his death off the third floor of a downtown San Luis Obispo parking garage.
Today, his parents Mary Jane and Bill Jodry are left wondering where their son would be. He would be 26 — finished with or finishing college. Would he have bought the empty lot in town to expand his cactus and succulent nursery? Would he play the guitars his mother had just restrung? Would he be married or engaged like his friends?
“It’s a really horrible milestone,” Mary Jane Jodry told The Tribune.
Jodry fell from the Marsh Street parking garage on Sept. 14, 2019, between 9:10 p.m. — when cell phone data shows he first arrived at the garage — and 9:16 p.m., when the first 911 call reported he fell from the structure.
Prior to the fall, Jodry had spent the day with David Allen Knight, who was 57 at the time, and had a history as a sex offender who was accused of preying on young men. The two met while Jodry was selling cacti outside his house in late August, his parents said. According to text messages reviewed by The Tribune, Knight invited Jodry to talk about art in San Luis Obispo.
Jodry’s parents believe Knight had something to do with their son’s death and filed a civil case against him in June 2020. Knight denied any involvement, and a judge ultimately dismissed the case in January 2023 because he found Knight did not have a “legal duty of care” for Thomas Jodry.
The legal battles for the case didn’t end there.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department closed the case shortly after the incident, but then reopened it in 2022, when a detective was asked to review the case.
In December 2022, the agency recommended the San Luis Obispo District Attorney’s Office charge Knight with involuntary manslaughter, but by that time it was three months after the statute of limitations for that crime had expired.
The Jodrys submitted a complaint to the California Attorney General’s Office, which agreed with the District Attorney’s decision to not file charges — a move Bill Jodry called “disappointing.”
New police records obtained by The Tribune as the anniversary of Jodry’s death reveal details and witness statements that were not previously known to the public.
Knight also interviewed with The Tribune for the first time since the death five years ago.
Knight told The Tribune he had nothing to do with Jodry’s death, and said he has felt doxxed, stalked, harassed and defamed by the Jodry family, who he claimed continues to frame him as a predator on social media and on flyers in the years since.
“I understand their grief, but I don’t know what they want,” he said. “They call it justice.”
What happened to Thomas Jodry?
The day he died, Google Timeline, an app Jodry had installed on his phone, showed his phone went from Cal Poly’s campus to a Mexican restaurant, then Montaña de Oro State Park, where Knight told investigators Jodry had shared he struggled with substance abuse and was going to get treatment.
Knight told The Tribune he assumed the drug was marijuana but did not recall any specific drug.
Then, cell phone data shows, the two went back to San Luis Obispo, where security footage showed them at Frog & Peach Pub.
Security footage viewed by The Tribune showed Knight buying two large shots. Knight can be seen gesturing Jodry to join in a toast. Jodry takes his shot, but Knight does not. Knight then switched his full glass with Jodry’s empty glass, footage showed, and Jodry ended up taking both of the shots that were purchased.
Knight told The Tribune Jodry ordered two large shots of Bombay Sapphire gin, which Knight didn’t like the taste of, so he gave his drink to Jodry. He said except for those two drinks, he and Jodry drank the same amount that night.
The two separated in the pub around 8 p.m., and Knight texted “F--k you” to Jodry, cell phone records showed. Security footage then showed the two leaving the pub together around 8:45 p.m.
According to a coroner’s report obtained by The Tribune, Jodry’s blood alcohol content when he died was 0.38% — almost five times the legal limit to drive. The police reports reviewed by The Tribune said his blood alcohol content was 0.35%.
According to body camera footage of a witness interview, a witness told a detective she saw a very drunk young man matching Jodry’s description in an altercation prior to the fall and later face-plant in the street in front of a car near the former Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory shop on Higuera Street, which prompted her to call 911. She said it appeared the older man the young man was with attempted to help him up after the altercation, saying, “Let’s go, man.”
The witness said the young man then would run away from the older man, who would calm him down, and then the young man would run away again.
According to a police report, Knight told investigators Jodry had an altercation with an unknown man and appeared to be punched.
Knight told officers he restrained Jodry from fighting and he became very “confrontational and belligerent” and ran away from Knight. Knight said Jodry dropped his phone near what was then a Gap store, so Knight picked it up and put it in his pocket. He told police he tried to get Jodry to cooperate again, but the younger man ran away.
Knight told The Tribune he was chasing Jodry for the sole reason of calming him down.
This is the last time Knight said he saw Jodry.
According to the Google Timeline app, Jodry’s phone arrived at the Marsh Street parking garage around 9:10 p.m., where his cell phone appeared to have lost its signal due to the concrete in the structure.
It is unclear what happened in the following six minutes, but at 9:16 p.m. an ambulance was called when someone spotted Jodry on the ground outside the parking garage.
Body camera footage showed another witness told a detective they saw a drunk young man also matching Jodry’s description with what appeared to be blood on his right cheek staggering in the stairwell of the parking structure leading to the fourth floor near the elevator. She said he appeared very incoherent and “out of it.”
The witness’ husband said he did not notice whether there was a second person with him.
Also around 9:16 p.m., cell phone data showed Jodry’s phone leaving the structure and moving away from the scene, then returning to the parking structure at 9:25 p.m.
San Luis Obispo police body camera footage showed Knight identifying Jodry at the scene, but it was unclear what time this occurred.
“I don’t want to be on the record in knowing this guy,” Knight told the officer in the footage.
Knight later told investigators he wanted to be anonymous because he was afraid of being arrested for being intoxicated, according to the police report.
According to phone records, Knight texted Jodry, “Where are you?” at 9:27 p.m. — presumably after he identified Jodry to police and already had Jodry’s phone in his possession.
When asked why he texted Jodry when his phone was already in his possession, Knight told The Tribune he did not recall but was “probably in shock.”
Jodry’s parents were calling him “nonstop” at this point, they told The Tribune.
His phone seemed to have been turned off at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center between 9:46 and 10:21 p.m and turned back on just before Knight returned to the Jodry residence at 10:21 p.m. and gave it to his parents.
Knight told the Jodrys to call the hospital, which was how they found out their son was dead.
A detective who reviewed the location data from Jodry’s phone later in the investigation said there were no inconsistencies between the data and witness statements.
According to body camera footage reviewed by The Tribune, no witness contact information appeared to have been taken down at the scene, but police did call back witnesses who reported the incident to dispatch.
At least one witness offered a report at the scene, but a detective declined.
Jodry’s death was first ruled a suicide, but the Sheriff’s Office later amended its findings to show that his manner of death “could not be determined” and instead wrote he fell from the structure.
The first investigation found there was “no evidence to support the fall was intentional, accidental or at the hands of another,” but it did say Jodry’s history of mental health and substance abuse challenges “may have placed him in a position of vulnerability.”
“That weakness was most certainly known by Knight, who confirmed that during his interview,” the report said. “However, we do not know what Jodry was thinking or intending at the time of the fatal fall.”
The report said Jodry had previously been contacted by law enforcement for an overdose, alcohol-related crimes and suicidal ideation, which “does not explain the details or motive of the incident, but shows that Jodry had struggles with suicidal ideation that may have been stimulated by alcohol and substance abuse problems.”
Mary Jane and Bill Jodry both told The Tribune they did not believe their son was struggling with suicidal ideation at the time of his death, adding that he had planned to host a cactus sale the following week.
The San Luis Obispo Police Department assigned an officer to review the case in May 2022.
It recommended Knight be charged with involuntary manslaughter because he purchased and provided alcohol to Jodry, who was already intoxicated. California law states anyone who provides alcohol to any obviously intoxicated person is guilty of a misdemeanor.
The report said the cell phone data showed Jodry’s phone was at the parking garage for about three minutes, which was likely not enough time for Knight to push or assist Jodry in falling from the garage.
“While there is no information that Jodry consumed the alcohol involuntarily, the responsibility rests with the person who provided the alcohol,” the later report said. “This issue is compounded with the knowledge by Knight that Jodry was undergoing treatment for alcohol abuse.”
The second report was submitted to the District Attorney’s Office for review in December 2022 — three months after the statute of limitations for involuntary manslaughter expired.
The District Attorney’s Office chose not to pursue a case because the statute of limitations had passed. It is unclear if the agency would have filed charges if the statute of limitations hadn’t passed.
Knight, meanwhile, told The Tribune his only intention that evening was to have an enjoyable day with Jodry talking about art and their shared interests.
Knight denies reported history of sex crimes
However, according to the second police report, a young man reported to police he believed he had been victimized by Knight previously.
“This information may be of value for the overall intentions of Knight, but it is not directly relevant to the actions surrounding the fatal fall from the parking structure to the ground,” the report said, adding the incident occurred “many years prior” and needed further substantiation to prove a pattern of behavior.
It was unclear how long ago this incident was alleged to have occurred.
It wasn’t the first time Knight has been accused of victimizing a young man.
The report said Knight had been accused of sex crimes with a minor in the legal system three times before and at one point was required to register as a sex offender.
On Jan. 1, 1993, Atascadero police recorded Knight had suspected charges of oral copulation of a person under 16 and lewd and lascivious act with a child. The District Attorney’s case database showed felony charges against Knight of continuous sexual abuse and oral copulation of a child under 16 connected to that date were dismissed and that a misdemeanor charge of oral copulation with a child under 18 was discharged.
When a charge is discharged, it means no punishment is imposed despite the defendant entering a plea.
Then, on Jan. 28, 2003, Atascadero police arrested Knight on suspicion of lewd acts upon a dependent adult and lewd acts with a child, the report said. It does not appear the district attorney charged Knight for this incident.
The report said Knight was also charged with felony continuous sexual abuse of a child and oral copulation of a person under 16 in connection to an incident on June 16, 2003. The report said he was booked into San Luis Obispo County Jail the following day on suspicion of those charges.
Both charges were dismissed and Knight was instead convicted of felony oral copulation of a person under 18 and sentenced to 120 days in jail and 3 years of probation.
A Tribune review found that charge was later reduced to a misdemeanor and expunged from Knight’s record.
The report also stated Knight was required to register as a sex offender because of the June 2003 incident but no longer had to register as of March 9, 2007.
According to district attorney records, Knight also had two charges of selling alcohol to a minor dismissed, though the dates of the charges were not listed.
In a separate supplemental record to the 2022 Jodry investigation, another man reported to police that year that Knight had groped him between 1984 and 1985. According to the interview, the man was 14 or 15 years old when it happened and would hang out near a Circle K store in Atascadero. His biological parents had died, and Knight provided him with alcohol to cope, the man told police.
One day, the man told investigators Knight invited him to go camping and surfing at the beach. When at the beach, the man said Knight gave him large amounts of hard alcohol. The man was very drunk when Knight tried to grope him, he told investigators. The man said he elbowed Knight and said “What are you some kind of f----t?” at which point Knight took him home.
This story was similar to that from another man, who spoke with The Tribune on the condition of anonymity.
He said he met Knight at the Circle K in Atascadero in 1983 when the man was around 17 years old. He said Knight, who the man believed to be at least 21 at the time, was a cashier.
He said Knight sought out a friendship with him and the two visited Santa Barbara together. The man didn’t have a job, he said, but Knight offered to pay for everything.
The man said Knight invited him to a sleepover one night, to which he agreed, assuming Knight wanted to watch a movie or TV show together.
When the man got there, he said he had dinner with Knight, his father and his sister. Knight offered him a soda, then the two went to Knight’s room, the man said.
The man said he passed out shortly after dinner and woke up with Knight on top of him kissing him. He said he recoiled back and asked Knight what he was doing, and Knight asked him if he was gay.
“I was afraid he was gonna — I couldn’t move. I didn’t know what to do, so I kind of left it alone,” he said. “Then I fell back to sleep.”
The man said he woke up two more times — once when he was being carried by someone larger than Knight and again on his front door step. He said he did not taste any alcohol in his drink and thought he may have been drugged.
He told The Tribune he didn’t report it to police at the time because he didn’t know whether it was crime. Now, the statute of limitations has expired.
“I just told myself, ‘I just want this over,’ ” he said.
He said he disassociated from the incident, but that alleged assault has haunted him ever since and affected his personal relationships.
When asked by The Tribune about the allegations of sexual misconduct, Knight told The Tribune he had no knowledge of any allegations against him other than the 2003 charge, which he said got pleaded down and dismissed.
He said he was not interested in commenting on any of the allegations, adding they did not have anything to do with the reality of Thomas Jodry’s death.
Jodry family continue to advocate for safer parking garages in SLO
While the criminal and civil court paths to justice have closed for the Jodry family, they said they will continue to advocate for their son.
Their hope, they said, is that someone will come forward with information that could lead to a development in the case.
In the meantime, they planned to continue to advocate for safer parking garages at City Council meetings and post flyers with advice for young people to exercise safe practices when they are out drinking.
Since 2019, the city has added more lighting and barriers and signs with the suicide hotline in its parking garages, city spokesperson Whitney Szentesi said. Cameras are at the driveway entrances and exits of every garage, but not in other areas of the garage.
“While cameras can be a deterrent to unlawful activity and used as a tool for investigation, recorded surveillance is considered passive security, as it is used to investigate after an incident occurs,” Szentesi said.
The city has also added security guards and increased police presence downtown, she said.
Those changes, however, don’t alter the reality of what the Jodry family is still going through today.
The Jodrys remember their son as a lively and ambitious entrepreneur. He started cultivating and selling cacti and succulents at just 12 years old — a hobby his dad taught him at home.
The garden started small, but soon it took over the Jodrys’ entire front yard and overflowed into the driveway. Then, every two or three months, he’d have a sale.
His graffiti art around the house — especially in the garage — used to bother Mary Jane Jodry, she said. She would always ask her son to clean it up, saying that the entire house wasn’t his art studio.
But now, she can’t bring herself to cover-up his work.
Jodry’s bedroom and the family room have become art galleries, with his paintings decorating the walls. One of his first, a Mojo Jojo painting stenciled atop a blue and purple background, hangs proudly over the couch.
Now, his parents have also taken up art.
Mary Jane told The Tribune she never thought of herself as an artist but has since made a skateboard and painted on T-shirts. It helps her feel closer to her son.
In light of the five-year anniversary, Jodry’s parents held a vigil outside the Marsh Street parking garage on the corner of Chorro and Marsh streets on Saturday afternoon to honor their son.
They invited the community to come out and support, and spread the word so one day, they can finally get justice for Thomas.
If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is a hotline for individuals in crisis or for those looking to help someone else. To speak with a certified listener, call 988. You can also call the Central Coast Hotline at 800-783-0607 for 24-7 assistance. To learn the warning signs of suicide, visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org
If you are experiencing a mental health crisis or need help finding mental health resources, call the Central Coast Hotline at 800-783-0607. You may also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or text HELLO to 741-741.
This story was originally published September 14, 2024 at 10:58 AM.
