Infamous Marin County criminal Max Wade lost his grant for parole earlier this month, putting the fate of the onetime teenage celebrity back in the hands of the criminal justice system.
Wade's crime spree launched him to notoriety when he was just a high schooler. Although he's perhaps best known for stealing Guy Fieri's Lamborghini, a very serious murder attempt was what landed him behind bars for what could be the rest of his life.
Wade was 14 when he started a criminal enterprise befitting a much older man. The San Rafael teen began making and selling fake IDs, a clandestine business that he says raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars. But wealth wasn't enough for Wade. In March 2011, he rappelled from the roof of British Motors in San Francisco, breaking into the showroom to steal a banana yellow Lamborghini. Unbeknownst to Wade at the time, the car's new owner was celebrity chef Guy Fieri.
The heist made national headlines, but Wade had moved onto the next part of his plan: impressing a girl. Detectives said Wade used the car in an attempt to court a Marin teen, but the young woman wasn't interested. A few months after the theft, Wade dressed in black, hopped on a motorcycle and waited to see a pickup truck driven by the teen who was dating Wade's crush. In Mill Valley, Wade opened fire at the vehicle; detectives at the time said he didn't realize his crush was also in the truck. Thankfully, no one was injured.
Detectives trying to determine who would target the two teenagers found surveillance footage of the motorcyclist at the gas station. The footage was sharp enough to show the type of helmet the shooter was wearing, which led investigators to a Cycle Gear in San Francisco. There, security cameras had caught a teenager buying the helmet and an array of black biking accessories like a mask and gloves.
When the footage was shown to the young woman, she said it looked like Max Wade, a local teen who'd been unsuccessfully trying to sweet-talk her. Detectives asked the woman to set up a date with Wade in his Lamborghini and, while he prepared for the date, police ambushed and took him into custody.
While Wade was awaiting trial at the Marin County Juvenile Hall, he turned 18. On his birthday, at least two people used bolt cutters to get through the fences surrounding the facility and began slamming a sledgehammer into the window of Wade's cell.
"Not in my 23 years have I ever heard of anything like this," Michael Daly, the county's chief probation officer, said at the time. "... We are unarmed inside the facility and we called the sheriff right away, but from that time until the sheriff arrived, there was a certain amount of terror."
The would-be prison breakers escaped before deputies arrived, and Wade was moved to an adult jail despite their efforts.
At 19 years old, Wade was sentenced to life in prison after being found guilty of attempted murder, auto theft and possession of a stolen vehicle. Although he was just a teenager, the judge emphasized the severity of his crimes, primarily the near-miss for two kids in the pickup truck.
"I cannot believe they are alive," the judge said during sentencing. "... He thought about the crime for months. He planned the attack carefully. That's kind of scary to see how much work Mr. Wade put into these crimes."
After years of appeals, in July 2024 Wade was granted the ability to apply for parole as soon as Dec. 2028. The parole board's decision was strenuously opposed by the Marin County District Attorney's Office, which maintained that Wade is still a dangerous individual. The DA's office pushed for a rescission hearing, which was granted and held earlier this month. Rescission hearings are held to determine if parole should be revoked in light of new evidence or mistakes made by the parole board.
Wade's parole grant was rescinded due to the fact he possessed a cellphone, which is contraband, in prison, the DA's office said. Wade, who is now 32, remains incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. His next parole suitability hearing will be held on Jan. 5, 2027, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation records show.
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This article originally published at Infamous Marin criminal Max Wade has parole grant taken away.