Pittsburg man faces 100 years to life sentence for daylong Monterey County crime spree
A Pittsburg man faces over 100 years to life in prison after he was found guilty of multiple charges for a daylong crime spree in September 2023, according to prosecutors.
Tele Matangi, 37, was convicted of carjacking, attempted carjacking, residential burglary, first-degree robbery, shooting at an occupied motor vehicle, being a violent felon in possession of a firearm and ammunition, possession of a controlled substance with a firearm, and hit-and-run, the Monterey County District Attorney's Office said in a statement Tuesday.
Authorities said that on Sept. 18, 2023, Matangi was driving in the Gonzales High School parking lot when he crashed through a locked gate near the stadium of the school, damaging it. He abandoned his vehicle near the school and carjacked a nearby driver at gunpoint.
He drove northbound to state Highway 156 near its intersection with U.S. Highway 101 in the Prunedale area. Authorities said around 40 minutes later, Matangi collided after turning into oncoming traffic from Highway 101 southbound traffic's off-ramp into the westbound lanes of Highway 156.
After crashing the vehicle he stole, Matangi left it on Highway 156. Prosecutors said he fired his gun at a concerned citizen who stopped near the collision site to help everyone involved. One of Matangi's shots struck the victim's car.
Authorities said Matangi fled on foot to a nearby Park and Ride parking lot where he approached a man sitting in his vehicle. He pointed a firearm at the man and attempted to carjack him, but he could not get the vehicle to start.
Matangi broke into a home across the street by ripping a window screen and climbing through the window. Once inside, he pointed his firearm at a resident of the home and stole the resident's car keys at gunpoint. Matangi then fled with the vehicle into the San Benito County area of Aromas.
In Aromas, Matangi abandoned the vehicle and stole a golf cart. He then abandoned it at a nearby property and hid in an Aromas resident's storage unit. The homeowners found him hiding in their storage unit and told him to leave.
Authorities said that soon after, a San Benito County sheriff's deputy saw Matangi walking on southbound Carpenteria Road. As the deputy followed, Matangi brandished a firearm at him.
Eventually, deputies from the Monterey County Sheriff's Office helped the San Benito deputy in arresting Matangi. They found in his possession a .40-caliber semiautomatic firearm, multiple magazines with live ammunition, a small plastic bag of methamphetamine, and keys to the car he stole last.
On Friday, a Monterey County Superior Court jury also found Matangi guilty of personally using a firearm during the commission of many of his offenses. On Tuesday, the court ruled that Matangi had two prior "strike" convictions within the meaning of California's Three Strikes Law. Due to his prior violent felony convictions for robbery and carjacking, he was prohibited from possessing firearms. Matangi will be sentenced on May 29. Due to his past convictions, prosecutors say he could get more than 100 years to life in prison.
