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Celebrity Chef Fieri Testifies, Max Wade Trial Goes To Marin Jury

SAN RAFAEL (CBS SF) - A Marin County Superior Court jury will begin deliberating on Tuesday afternoon in the trial of a teen accused of stealing a celebrity chef's Lamborghini in 2011 and then shooting at a romantic rival in Mill Valley a year later.

Max Wade, now 19, is charged with two counts of attempted murder and shooting at an occupied vehicle for the shooting on April 13, 2012.

Wade also faces counts of commercial burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle for the March 8, 2011 heist from a San Francisco car dealership of chef Guy Fieri's bright-yellow Lamborghini Gallardo, valued at $200,000.

Deputy District Attorney Yvette Martinez told the jurors that Wade made a "cold, calculated decision to kill" when he drove up on a motorcycle and fired five shots at Eva Dedier, now 19, and her then-boyfriend Landon Wahlstrom as they sat in Wahlstrom's truck.

"If they hadn't ducked ... we would have had two dead teenagers," Martinez said.

The prosecutor said to impress Dedier, Wade broke into the San Francisco dealership, rappelling from the roof, to steal the Lamborghini.

Investigators found "Mission Impossible Burglary" among the Google searches on Wade's computer after he was arrested, as well as a text message to a friend that said "Doesn't get any better than boostin Lambos and picking up chicks at 17," Martinez said.

After getting a break in the case by tying a motorcycle helmet Wade purchased to the one seen on the shooter's head, authorities tracked him to a Richmond storage facility where they found the Lamborghini, motorcycle, a revolver allegedly used in the shooting and other evidence, Martinez said.

"There is no reasonable doubt," she said. "He's guilty of all the crimes."

Defense attorney Charles Dresow said there was no proof that Wade had a dangerous obsession with the victims.

"He never verbally threatened either victim," Dresow said. "There's no evidence that Max was jealous."

He said, "The motive for the shooting here just doesn't make sense."

Dresow said the shooter also fired up toward the ceiling of the truck instead of down toward the victims.

"Those are not shots fired with an attempt to kill," he said. "That's what's necessary for an attempted murder."

He said, "This case is really based on assumptions, speculation and connect-the-dots guesswork."

Earlier on Monday, Fieri, whose television credits include hosting the show "Dives, Diners and Drive-ins" for the Food Network, gave brief testimony about his ownership of the Lamborghini.

Fieri confirmed he did not know Wade and did not give him permission to take the pricey vehicle out of the British Motor Car Distributors building on San Francisco's Van Ness Avenue.

Fieri told reporters outside the court that he was happy the case is nearly over.

"It's been a really crazy story," he said.

Fieri said he was filming his show in Chicago when he received a call about the stolen vehicle.

"I thought it was a bad joke," he said.

Fieri said he had been told by police that the vehicle was likely shipped overseas, and didn't believe friends who said they spotted the car being driven around in the North Bay.

He said the insurance company took ownership of the car after it was found in Wade's possession at the Richmond storage unit.

(© Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco and Bay City News Service. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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