After months of comprehensive media coverage, a preliminary hearing date has now been set for alleged gunman, car burglar, and teenage criminal mastermind Max Wade.
The hearing for the former Redwood student is set for Oct. 11 to discuss the evidence involved in the case to follow.
According to Charles Dresow, Wade’s attorney, the purpose of the hearing is to determine whether or not the government has enough evidence to pursue the felony charges against Wade. Wade is being charged with one count of attempted murder and one count of taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.
Wade, who attended Redwood his freshman year, has recently been charged with two felonies after he allegedly shot at Landon Wahlstrom (Class of 2011) and Wahlstrom’s girlfriend at the time, Eva Dedier.
As of press time, only the prosecution’s evidence has been brought to public attention.
Dresow said he believes that the public opinion of Wade’s case has been obscured by an incomplete set of facts.
“The majority of what the public knows is based on rumor and conjecture,” he said.
Both Dresow and Chief Deputy District Attorney Barry Borden declined to answer any questions pertaining to their case theories and the evidence they plan to use.
On the day Wade was arrested authorities trailed him to a storage unit in Point Richmond that was under his name.
Upon searching Wade’s personal storage container, items that pointed to possible crimes were found, including a black motorcycle, a handgun, and a black helmet which, according to Sheriff’s Lieutenant Berry Heying, were all used in the shooting.
In addition, a dismantled AK-47, another assault rifle, shotgun shells, cell phone jamming systems, fake IDs for three states, police scanner coordinates, a replica SFPD uniform with a badge and a duty belt, and written plans for future crimes were found in Wade’s storage unit, according to investigators.
This and the rest of the evidence at the disposal of the prosecution will be presented in the upcoming hearing.
One piece of evidence that resulted in criminal charges is a Lamborghini that was found in Wade’s possession, later identified as the 2008 yellow Lamborghini Gallardo belonging to celebrity chef Guy Fieri that was stolen last year from a San Francisco car dealership.
In the weeks before the trial, Dresow filed a motion to separate the two charges. Dresow also filed a motion to try only the vehicle theft charge in juvenile court, although all alleged crimes were committed when Wade was under the age of 18.
Both motions were denied by Judge Paul Haakenson, the judge presiding over Wade’s case.
Wade’s plea of “not guilty” came after the denial of these motions.
Dresow said that the ideal outcome of the case would be “a no holding order,” which is when sufficient evidence has not been presented by the prosecution in the preliminary hearing to show probable cause that the defendant committed the alleged crimes.
In addition to providing legal counsel for Wade, Dresow is also an assistant coach for Redwood’s JV football team.
Wade’s bail is set at $2 million. As it stands, he is one of seven inmates in the Marin County Jail who has a bail of $1 million or above, and is the second youngest of those seven.
