After more than a year of investigations and a previous release, the Mesa Police Department made a second arrest in the November 2022 murder of an 18-year-old Mesa teen. Joe Rim, 21, a Gilbert man, now faces a charge of second-degree murder for the death of Stephen Jacobo, who was shot at a party near 1700 West Emelita Avenue in Mesa.
According to details from 12News, the Mesa Police Department responded to reports of gunshots early in the morning on the night of the incident. Witnesses recounted that Jacobo had inquired about the gun Rim was carrying, which allegedly led to Rim waving the gun around. Following the initial arrest right after the incident, Rim was released as formal charges were never filed against him.
The case saw new life recently when Rim was charged and taken into custody on Friday. During his court appearance on Saturday, the heartstricken parents of the deceased teenager made emotional pleas before the judge. "He doesn't belong on the streets," the victim's father, Mark Jacobo, stated in an interview with 12News. Echoing her husband's sentiments, Alma Antolin, the victim's mother, expressed, "I don’t want anybody to go through what we are going through right now. I want him to be behind bars as long as possible so he doesn’t hurt anybody else."
Recounting the last 14 months as "horrible" for her family, Alma Antolin shared with 12News, "There isn't a day that goes by that we don't think about our son." Inspired by Stephen, the family hopes to spread a message of love and caring to prevent further gun violence. "We're losing too many of our kids to gun violence every day and it's not right," Antolin added.
Rim's next court appearances are scheduled for January 25 for a status conference and January 29 for a preliminary hearing, both set to be at the Maricopa County Superior Courthouse. Meanwhile, the family and community continue to seek justice and healing for a tragedy that struck them deeply and reignited concerns about gun violence in their wake.
