ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) — A man accused of crimes spanning four states that culminated with an attempted murder in Oregon has been sentenced to 30 years in prison and will be extradited to Colorado to face a murder charge there, authorities said.
Matthew Anthony Fanelli, 32, was sentenced Monday for a 2019 attack in which officials say he shot a former fire chief multiple times and pistol-whipped the man’s girlfriend in a bid to steal their car.
Fanelli has been held in a county jail in rural southern Oregon since his arrest two years ago. Authorities said he is accused of crimes in other states including the slaying of an Uber driver in Denver, Colorado, robberies in Wyoming and Utah and a gun battle on Interstate 5 in southern Oregon after leading police on a high-speed chase.
During the car chase, a bullet lodged in a car seat occupied by a 10-month-old infant, who wasn’t harmed, t he Daily Courier reported.
Former Rogue River Fire Chief Mike Hannan, who was shot multiple times at close range, spoke at the sentencing hearing. He required several surgeries and still has a bullet lodged in his pelvis, the newspaper reported.
“I don’t believe this person is going to do anything differently than he’s been doing. He shows utter disregard for life,” Hannan said. ”I call on you to do whatever you can to keep this person in custody.”
Authorities said Fanelli’s crimes began two days before he shot Hannan in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was accused of firing shots inside a club.
Fanelli, his girlfriend Cynthia Sena and his half-brother, Jose Lopez-Jovel, then headed to Denver, where Fanelli is charged with killing an Uber driver named David Rosenthal in a botched carjacking, according to police and court records. The three drove to Cheyenne, Wyoming.
Authorities said a convenience store was robbed in Wyoming, and a bank in Park City, Utah, on the way to Oregon.
Sena either escaped the men or was dropped off in Salem, Oregon, where she was arrested, the newspaper said.
Fanelli and Lopez-Jovel bought a used Toyota Camry in Eugene with proceeds from one of the robberies and then tried to carjack Hannan, according to authorities.
Officials said Fanelli abandoned Lopez-Jovel and then led police on a car chase on I-5, firing randomly at sheriff’s deputies, state troopers and other drivers. Authorities said stray bullets struck a semi-truck and the child safety seat in an SUV holding the 10-month old child.
Sena and Lopez-Jovel both face bank robbery charges in U.S. District Court in Salt Lake City.
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