A man suspected of a series of car thefts, burglaries and other crimes in Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties might have moved on to Monterey County, according to law enforcement officials.
Since March 31, law enforcement alleged Dimitri Storm has stolen at least eight vehicles, assaulted and threatened police officers, resisted arrest, brandished a firearm, committed multiple burglaries of vehicles and homes, and led police on a high-speed chase.
Storm is described as a white male who is about 5-feet, 9-inches tall with a small beard, but he might have shaved to change his appearance.
According to Sgt. Mitch Medina of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office, an Audi Q5 SUV that was reported stolen April 11 in Boulder Creek was found abandoned in Carmel by state park rangers on Sunday, April 14.
The Audi was reported stolen from a neighborhood near Boulder Creek Golf and Country Club close to where another vehicle — which is suspected to have been stolen by Storm in Sonoma County — was located.
Storm is suspected to have a gray 2011 Lexus GS350 four-door sedan in the Carmel area, Medina said.
“Within blocks of where that vehicle was located, another vehicle was stolen,” he said. “At this point, we assume that he’s involved with the theft of that vehicle.”
The Lexus’ license number is 6PEP553, though Medina alleged one of Storm’s trademarks has been switching license plates.
Medina said no evidence was found in the Audi to suggest any homes or other vehicles had been burglarized in Boulder Creek.
“This investigation is ongoing,” he said. “We do believe he is mobile.”
On March 31 and April 1, Storm allegedly burglarized numerous vehicles in Ben Lomond.
At about 12:30 p.m. April 2, a homeowner on Chardonnay Road in Santa Cruz returned home to find a man exiting his house with a gym bag. The man allegedly pointed a handgun at the victim, dropped the gym bag and escaped in a silver Lexus.
The man, identified by the sheriff’s office as Storm, reportedly evaded a police perimeter by allegedly stealing a 1997 light blue Ford Explorer from a house on Hall Ranch Road.
Sonoma County Sheriff’s Officers deputies on April 5 tracked a man believed to be Storm using the OnStar system in a vehicle allegedly stolen from a home in Windsor.
They tried to apprehend him in Petaluma, but the man fought with deputies arm and sped away.
Deputies and officers from other agencies chased the suspect for 90 minutes before they ended the pursuit in heavy commuter traffic in the town of Fairfax.
On April 6, another vehicle was reported stolen from a home in nearby San Geronimo, a crime authorities believe is also connected to Storm.
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