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Accused Teen Lamborghini Thief|Charged in Attempted Murders

MILL VALLEY, Calif. (CN) - A case spanning the Mission Impossible-style theft of celebrity chef Guy Fiero's Lamborghini in San Francisco to a black-clad motorcycle drive-by murder attempt on a love interest and her boyfriend a year later in Mill Valley continues to unfold in a Marin County court.

San Rafael teenager Max Wade pleaded "not guilty" to charges Wednesday. The 17-year-old is charged with two counts of attempted murder, possession of a stolen vehicle and other stolen property, possession of a loaded firearm, and resisting arrest, according to a statement issued by the Marin County Sheriff's Office.

Wade faces 70 years to life in prison for the attempted murder of a teenaged girl and her companion on April 13, says Yvette Martinez, a prosecutor with the Marin County District Attorney's office. "Earlier this week," Martinez continued, "Wade's attorney filed a demurrer to separate charges for the Lamborghini theft from the attempted murder charges and it was denied, so now he will face all the charges together in adult court."

The March 8, 2011 car theft from British Motor Car Distributors' car dealership on Van Ness Ave. was "a bold and brazen act" according to Officer Albie Esparza of the San Francisco Police Department, "because a bright yellow Lamborghini driving through the streets of the city would have been very conspicuous." The car, a 2008 Lamborghini Spyder Gallardo, was worth over $200,000 when new. Although Officer Esparza was reluctant to discuss details of the crime now being prosecuted by Marin authorities, he did confirm that the thief had apparently rappelled from the roof of the dealership through a window to steal the car, and that the car had been spotted in crime surveillance videos several times, crossing the Golden Gate Bridge and going into Tiburon and Belvedere.

Prosecutor Martinez maintains that "the car was used to cultivate a relationship with one of the alleged shooting victims in the attempted murders. He used it to impress her and offered to let her drive it." The car was found in a Point Richmond storage locker rented by Wade, according to the Marin County Sherriff's Office statement, along with the motorcycle and the gun believed to be used in the shooting. "The victims reported that they saw the gunman drive up to their vehicle and fire a handgun at them from close range. The gunman was described as riding a dark motorcycle, dressed in all black clothing and wearing a helmet. Neither victim suffered gunshot wounds but were treated for minor injuries from broken glass from the vehicle windows," detailed the statement.

At the time of the arrest, the "suspect's wallet contained $1,500 and a false driver's license in the name of 'Frank Agnello Gotti,' an apparent reference to Frank Gotti Agnello, a reality television personality who is the grandson of the late New York mobster John Gotti," according to a report in the May 2, 2012 Contra Costa Times.

The preliminary hearing is set for September 17, 2012, Martinez said.

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