San Rafael teen's locker hints at crime spree
Peter Fimrite
San Francisco Chronicle May 3, 2012 04:00 AM Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Thursday, May 3, 2012
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Celebrity chef Guy Fieri's Lamborghini appears to be part of a teen's criminal alter ego.
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The teenage suspect in the daring heist of a celebrity chef's Lamborghini and a brazen shooting from a motorcycle is being investigated for a variety of other possible crimes, including a series of recent bank robberies in Northern California by a mysterious masked man, Marin County Sheriff's officials said Wednesday.
The chilling possibility that 17-year-old Max Wade was involved in other high-profile crimes became clear when Marin County sheriff's investigators released the details of what they found inside the San Rafael youth's Richmond storage locker.
Besides the stolen Lamborghini, a motorcycle and a .357 revolver believed to be used in the shooting, the search revealed a trove of contraband, including automatic weapons, a police uniform, sophisticated electronic transmitting devices, bugs and other evidence of possible criminal activity beyond what anyone had imagined.
"We're definitely looking into the possibility of other crimes. At this time we don't have anything confirmed," said Marin Sheriff's Sgt. Mark Hale. "There were some (suspicious) items inside the container. We're looking at the reason why he had the items, the source of how he acquired those items and the motive behind having those items."
Wade, who is being charged as an adult, was arraigned Tuesday in Marin County Superior Court for attempted murder, burglary and other related crimes. He is accused of stealing a $200,000 Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder owned by celebrity chef Guy Fieri after rappelling from the roof of a San Francisco dealership on March 8, 2011, and then cutting the locks on the showroom door.
The bright yellow car was discovered inside Wade's Richmond storage locker Saturday after sheriff's sleuths connected him through surveillance videos and weeks of legwork to the April 13 shooting into a pickup truck in Mill Valley that was occupied by two youths - a girl Wade liked and the teen who was dating her. Neither was struck by the bullets.
Wade, who is being held on $2 million bail, was captured, according to the booking report, after he asked his female victim out two weeks after trying to kill her, the report says.
The cache in the steel locker was a potpourri of gadgetry, disguises and guns. Investigators found a dismantled AK-47 assault weapon, an assault-type shotgun, electronics that can interfere with cell phone frequencies and a list of scanner codes for a variety of California law enforcement agencies. Inside the Lamborghini were three UHF signal jammers for cell phones and two radio signal jammers.
Most troubling of all, though, was the discovery of a full San Francisco Police Department uniform, including a badge and duty belt and some bags, containers and a mask.
"The mask resembled one which was reportedly worn by a suspect or suspects in a series of recent, unsolved bank robberies in Northern California," stated the report, which was prepared by Marin Sheriff's Detective Greg Garrett.
On March 12, a Bank of the West in Vacaville was robbed by masked gunman carrying an apparent assault rifle. FBI investigators noted similarities between that robbery and another at a California Bank and Trust in Chino on Feb. 29 in which a police officer was wounded. Similar robberies also occurred at banks in Sacramento and Vacaville. The problem is that in each case the culprit was described as stocky. Wade has a thin build.
Whether or not there is a connection, it took some pretty solid gumshoe work to crack the local case.
The detectives started only with reports from witnesses that a black-clad motorcyclist had been seen waiting at a nearby gas station before five shots were fired into a pickup truck parked on Evergreen Avenue in Mill Valley. Landon Wahlstrom and his 17-year-old girlfriend were sitting inside and ducked, according to the report.
Surveillance video at two gas stations where witnesses said they had seen the motorcyclist showed the apparent suspect. The helmet had "Bilt" written on it. That led investigators to a Cycle Gear retail store in San Francisco, which sells that model helmet. Surveillance video and transaction records showed the suspect buying not only the helmet but a dark visor, a black cloth face and neck protector, a black leather vest and black gloves.
The female victim was shown the video and identified Wade, from whom she had admitted buying fake identification cards and counterfeit driver's licenses.
Garrett said he actually spotted Wade at the Marin County courthouse on April 25 and followed him to a residence in San Rafael. The next day, the girl whom Wade allegedly tried to shoot told investigators that he had texted her asking if she wanted to go on a ride to San Francisco with him on April 28. The girl, who is not being identified because she is a juvenile, set up the date in Wade's yellow "Lambo" in cooperation with investigators. He was confronted by detectives when he went to get the car for the date. He ran, allegedly grabbing at his waistband. A loaded Glock handgun was found in his waistband when he was arrested, along with $1,500 in cash and a fake ID.
"I personally haven't worked any cases like this, especially of this sophistication level involving such a young juvenile," said Hale, the department spokesman. "It has definitely been interesting and challenging for us."
Peter Fimrite is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer.
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This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle
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