National Guard Humvee recovered months after theft from armory
PETALUMA, Calif. - For four months, authorities have tried to track down a missing Humvee that was stolen from the National Guard Armory in Santa Rosa. On Tuesday, the investigation reached a climax as law enforcement chased down the stolen military truck and the alleged thief.
The pursuit started around 7 a.m. shortly after a man in a camouflaged Humvee fired a gun at a parked utility truck on Highway 116 in Jenner, the Sonoma County Sheriff's office said.
The driver, identified later as 34-year-old Anthony Stabile, fled the scene, police said.
Sheriff's deputies, along with California Highway Patrol officers, began a search for the suspect.
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CHP officers spotted the Humvee heading eastbound on Bodega Highway, just outside Sebastopol, authorities said. They trailed the vehicle until it was safe to attempt to pull the driver over in the 900 block of Highway 116, but instead of complying, the driver kept going, and the chase started up, according to the sheriff's office.
The chase continued onto Highway 116, then on Stony Point Road. The Petaluma Police Department became involved and used spike strips to puncture the Humvee’s tires.
As the tires deflated, the Humvee came to a stop on Old Redwood Highway in Penngrove.
Law enforcement arrested Stabile, described as a transient. He was booked on multiple felonies, including vehicle theft, possession of a stolen vehicle, and shooting at an unoccupied vehicle.
The Humvee was stolen on the night of July 3. Since then, the vehicle had been sighted several times in Sonoma County, though authorities had never located it.
CHP Officer Marcus Hawkins had previously stated that the thief had scaled the armory's fence and stole the vehicle, crashing through the armory's gates.