ROSEBURG, Ore. (AP) - Two men suspected in crimes across three states, including a deadly Colorado carjacking, have been arrested, authorities said Monday.
Oregon State Police Capt. Timothy Fox said Jose Lopez-Jovel, 31, and Matthew Anthony Fanelli, 30, were being held in separate county jails on multiple charges. Fanelli, who is being detained for first-degree murder, is suspected of fatally shooting a man in Denver, according to local police. Both men are suspected of committing armed robberies in Utah and Wyoming, authorities said.
The two men set off a police pursuit in Roseburg on Saturday when they attempted to steal a car outside a Red Robin restaurant, according to police. They failed in their effort and tried to flee but Lopez-Jovel was left behind and was quickly arrested
Fanelli went onto an interstate, igniting a police chase. Investigators say he opened fire several times. At least one bullet disabled a state police vehicle and another hit an occupied child car seat in a passenger vehicle. But nobody was injured, Fox said.
Fanelli then tried to carjack another vehicle from a couple. Police say he shot the man, critically injuring him, and assaulted the woman. Police did not immediately respond to inquiries about the man’s condition.
The suspect was unable to take the car. His own car then became disabled and he was subsequently taken into custody.
Denver police said a man was found with multiple gunshot wounds last Friday and his black 2015 Cadillac was missing. He was later pronounced dead at a hospital.
About two hours before the Denver shooting, Fanelli is suspected of firing a gun at a strip club near Colorado Springs after becoming upset when he was asked to leave.
The El Paso County Sheriff’s office said Fanelli, who was accompanied by an unidentified Hispanic man, fired at the club manager and two bouncers before getting away but no one was hurt. It also said Fanelli physically assaulted a woman inside.
Police say the Cadillac sedan was used later in the day in an armed robbery at a convenience store in Cheyenne, Wyoming, 100 miles (160 kilometers) north. Nobody was injured, according to Cheyenne police. But Fanelli and Lopez-Jovel allegedly stole cash and merchandise and returned to the Cadillac, where a woman was waiting.
Six hours after the Cheyenne robbery, the same men robbed a Wells Fargo bank in Park City, Utah, 440 miles (710 kilometers) west of Cheyenne, authorities said. Summit County sheriff’s deputies said the suspects drove away in a black Cadillac with the same Colorado license plate as the car stolen in Denver.
It was not immediately known Monday if Lopez-Jovel, who is from El Salvador, and Fanelli, of New Mexico, had attorneys.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.