As celebrity chef Guy Fieri exited the Marin County Superior Courthouse swarmed by media, he was asked about the alleged criminal responsible for stealing his $200,000 yellow Lamborghini.
“Brave kid,” he said with a chuckle.
The “kid” in question was former Redwood student Max Wade, 19, who, according to prosecutor Yvette Martinez-Shaw, fired five shots at two teenagers last year and committed a “Hollywood-style” burglary of Fieri’s Lamborghini in 2011.
“When he sees what he wants, he takes it,” Martinez-Shaw said during closing arguments. She claims Wade carefully plotted the robbery, Google searching “Mission Impossible Burglary” and researching auto theft techniques prior to rappelling down a four-story building into a San Francisco car dealership.
Chained to the counsel table and looking several pounds lighter than he did during last year’s preliminary hearings, Wade was far from the man who was described by the prosecution as “invincible.” Instead, hunched over, Wade blankly stared at Martinez-Shaw as she presented computer and text message evidence to the jury.
According to Martinez-Shaw, Wade sent a picture of the stolen car to his friend and texted, “Doesn’t get any better than boostin Lambos and pickin up chicks at 17.”
Monday marked the last day of witness testimonies, during which Fieri identified the car as his own. In addition, both prosecutor Martinez-Shaw and Wade’s attorney Charles Dresow delivered their closing arguments.
They summarized the key aspects of the case, highlighting the Richmond storage locker where Wade was arrested. Police found fake IDs, a revolver, and Fieri’s stolen Lamborghini in the storage facility that was listed under the name “Carmine Columbo,” one of Wade’s fake identities, said the prosecution.
Police tracked Wade to the storage facility after identifying him as a potential suspect in a Mill Valley drive-by shooting, during which Eva Dedier, 18, and Landon Wahlstrom, 19, were the alleged targets. According to Martinez-Shaw, Wade was jealous of Wahlstrom’s relationship with Dedier and attempted murder in an act of romantic jealousy to get the “beautiful, blonde girl.”
“The fact that Max was never seen riding or purchasing the motorcycle creates a reasonable doubt,” countered Wade’s defender, Charles Dresow.
Dresow also cited a lack of evidence in the prosecution’s case, and pointed out flaws in Wade’s alleged motives. While the prosecutor argued that Wade made a deliberate attempt to kill Dedier and Wahlstrom because he was approximately three to six feet away from their vehicle, Dresow suggested that if the shooter’s intent was to kill, he would not have missed from such a short range.
Ballistics evidence matched the revolver found in Wade’s locker to the bullets found at the scene. However, the defense emphasized that multiple sets of DNA were found on the gun.
Wade is accused of shooting at an occupied vehicle, commercial burglary, receiving a stolen vehicle, and two counts of attempted murder. The jury began deliberating this afternoon.
