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15-year-old car thief suspect is still at large

An 18-year-old Rohnert Park man has been identified by witnesses as the accomplice of a still-at-large 15-year-old Valley boy with whom he broke into a Greve Lane home on Sept. 20, after stealing a Toyota minivan in Santa Rosa.

The two were caught in the act of ransacking the house when the owner came home, but they escaped and eluded a lengthy manhunt that involved the Sheriff’s helicopter.

The two then returned to the burgled home late that night with a key they had stolen earlier to an Audi Quatro parked in the garage. They drove off with the car sometime after 1 a.m.

The 18-year-old and the 15-year-old were later identified in a photo line-up by witnesses in a Santa Rosa store where they used a stolen credit card taken from a locked car in Rohnert Park.

The 18-year-old was identified as Nathan Paul Wilson, and police arrested him Sept. 22 as he drove on Bennett Valley Road in Santa Rosa. He was alone and had a stolen wallet and credit cards in his possession.

According to Sgt. Mike Raasch, with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office, Wilson told authorities he was standing outside the Roxie Theater when someone he did not know drove up and offered him the car. He said he gave the driver some marijuana and took the Audi, knowing it was stolen.

Authorities believe Wilson was the accomplice who broke into the Sonoma home and took the Audi.

The 15-year-old, who lives in the Springs, has not been located since the auto theft. Wilson remains in the Sonoma County jail, charged with vehicle theft, two counts of residential burglary, possession of stolen property, theft by use of credit card and driving on a suspended license.

Anyone with information of the 15-year-old’s whereabouts is asked to call Detective Sal Borruso at the Sonoma County Sheriff’s office at 565-2185.