Boyfriend of missing Isabella Comas held on bond. Why?

Elena Santa Cruz, Arizona Republic

Fri, January 16, 2026 at 7:06 PM UTC

4 min read

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The boyfriend of Isabella Comas was arrested on suspicion of charges related to her disappearance, but not her disappearance itself.

Comas, 21, was last seen on Jan. 11 in Avondale. Her cell phone and vehicle were later located and recovered miles away, in Phoenix.

Tommy Rodriguez, 39, is now in custody on suspicion of theft of means of transportation and criminal damage, according to Avondale police spokesperson Jaret Redfearn.

Comas is still missing, and Rodriguez remains a person of interest in the investigation, Redfearn said. Police previously said there were "suspicious circumstances" surrounding Comas' case.

Rodriguez, at his Jan. 16 initial appearance, said he has been fully cooperating with police.

"I didn't try to hide," he said. "I didn't try to flee."

Dawn Sauer, a prosecutor with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, told the court that "immediately" after committing the crimes he was booked on, Rodriguez left the state on a one-way ticket. She acknowledged that he travels a lot on one-way tickets purchased by his employer.

Sauer requested that Rodriguez be held on a $100,000 cash bond, saying he had an incentive to flee because he knew he was the primary suspect in Comas' disappearance case. She said he had a history of domestic violence offenses.

Rodriguez already "went to great lengths" to destroy evidence that linked him to Comas' stolen vehicle, Sauer said. If he were released, she said, he might try to damage more evidence related to Comas' disappearance. Sauer added Rodriguez likely knew where Comas was.

Rodriguez told the court it was true he was out of state, but it was because he already had a scheduled flight for work. He said he was able to immediately get a flight back to Arizona so he could speak with investigators.

He acknowledged his domestic violence offenses, but said they were in the past and had nothing to do with his case.

"My girlfriend came up missing and they're stating a lot of stuff against me, and that's like a lot to, like, uh, I don't know," Rodriguez said.

Commissioner William Cawthon said he had many concerns with the case, adding that the paperwork detailing the allegations against him that police submitted to the court was nine pages long. That paperwork, which is typically publicly available, was sealed at Sauer's request.

Cawthon said a point of concern for him was that Rodriguez was accused of taking and damaging Comas' vehicle and leaving it in a condition that leads people to worry about her. He said he was also concerned about Rodriguez's criminal history, which includes felony convictions of aggravated assault, prohibited possession of a weapon and stalking.

Cawthon pushed back on the high bond amount requested by Sauer, saying the request appeared to stem from charges that Rodriguez was not arrested on.

Instead, Cawthon ordered a $25,000 secured bond for Rodriguez's current case, as well as a $25,000 secured bond for violating his probation. Rodriguez was on probation for his felony convictions, according to the Maricopa County Superior Court website.

A secured bond means Rodriguez can go through a bonding company.

If he posts bail, Cawthon ordered that he be placed on electronic monitoring, surrender any passports, not leave the county, contact any victims, drive a vehicle without a valid driver's license or possess any weapons, drugs or alcohol.

What happened to Isabella Comas?

Comas was last seen leaving a friend's house at about 3 p.m. on Jan. 11 near 111th Avenue and Van Buren Street in Avondale. She was reported missing after she did not pick a friend up from work, according to a Turquoise Alert issued by the Arizona Department of Public Safety.

Comas also didn't show up to work on Jan. 12 and could not be reached by phone.

The Avondale Police Department said her cell phone was found at a recycling center in Phoenix on Jan. 12, and her vehicle, a red 2011 Hyundai Sonata, was found near 67th Avenue and Indian School Road the following night.

Comas was last seen in a white shirt with a black logo depicting figures of a man and a woman, typically seen on bathroom signs. The figures are wearing over-ear headphones and, above them is the word "HARDSTYLE."

Anyone with information on Comas' whereabouts is asked to call Avondale police at 623-333-7001.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Boyfriend of missing Isabella Comas held on bond

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