For Immediate Release

Friday, Sept. 15, 2017

Contact: John Guilfoil
Phone: 617-993-0003
Email: john@jgpr.net

Raynham Police Searching for Man Wanted for Motor Vehicle Theft

Suspect Also Wanted for Home Invasion and Armed Robbery in Rhode Island

RAYNHAM– Chief James Donovan reports that the Raynham Police Department has secured an arrest warrant for a man who stole a vehicle, fled town and then engaged in a pursuit with Rhode Island Police following a home invasion and armed robbery.

MICHAEL GONZALEZ, AGE 35, OF 409 DANFORTH ST., APT. 2 IN TAUNTON is charged with Larceny of a Motor Vehicle (subsequent offense). Raynham Police secured a warrant for his arrest at Taunton District Court this morning.

On Wednesday, Sept. 13, at approximately 11:30 a.m., Raynham Police responded to Silko Honda, 1580 New State Highway, on a report of a stolen motor vehicle.

Upon arrival, police learned that a gray 2017 Honda Civic was stolen from the dealership on Wednesday, Sept. 6 at approximately 3:30 p.m. A manager of the dealership reported that he believed GONZALEZ had stolen the vehicle.

GONZALEZ is a former employee of Angels Touch Auto Body and Detail in Bourne, which the dealership uses for reconditioning their vehicles. Another Silko employee told police he saw GONZALEZ in the rear lot around 3 p.m. on Sept. 13.

Surveillance footage shows GONZALEZ retrieving a key from the key box at the dealership, entering the Honda Civic and then driving the car off the property at approximately 3:30 p.m.

While investigating the incident, Raynham Police received a report from the Cranston, Rhode Island Police Department, which stated that police had recovered the Honda Civic following a pursuit with a man who matched the description of GONZALEZ.

According to a press release issued by the Cranston Police Department, around 8 a.m. on Sept. 13, a Cranston Police Officer located the Honda Civic on Pontiac Street. Cranston Police Detectives had been looking for the vehicle after it was used during an armed robbery on Sept. 9 at the Pontiac Food Mart and an armed home invasion on Sept. 11 at a residence in town.

The Cranston Officer attempted to stop the Honda Civic when it was located on Sept. 13, but the vehicle fled and a pursuit ensued. Police continued to pursue the vehicle until it crashed into a tree and brick building in Providence. The vehicle came back stolen out of Raynham, and also had stolen Massachusetts plates.

The driver, believed to be GONZALEZ, and both passengers fled the scene on foot. A Cranston Police K-9 was called in to track the suspects, but police soon learned the suspects were picked up by a dark colored Honda minivan, driven by a female, on an adjacent street.

Anyone who has seen GONZALEZ, or who has information on the incident in Raynham or Cranston, can call the Raynham Police Department at 508-824-2716 or the Cranston Police Detective Division at 401-942-2211.

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