CASPER — A 41-year-old Casper man is expected in Casper Circuit Court on Tuesday on charges related to stealing a truck idling in a driveway Saturday night.
He then somehow escaped a hail of bullets from the truck’s owner, some piercing the windshield of the stolen vehicle.
The Natrona County District Attorney’s Office requested that charges against the pickup’s owner for shooting at the alleged truck thief also be submitted for review, a police affidavit states.
Casper police arrested Angelo Vito Arvzo shortly after 9 p.m. Saturday after receiving a call from the owner of a Teal GMC pickup that his truck had been stolen out of his driveway in the 2000 block of Fremont Avenue.
After firing at his fleeing truck at least 11 times, the owner got into another vehicle and followed his stolen truck, the affidavit says. When he caught up to it, he struck his own truck at the Smith’s grocery store on CY Avenue to keep it from being driven again.
There he reportedly held a gun on the man who allegedly stole it and “yelled at him to stop” until police arrived.
“Upon arrival, Officer (Logen) Etchison observed two vehicles … crashed in the parking lot,” the affidavit states.
Police also found bullet holes in the front window of the truck.
The truck’s owner then told police that Arvizo was driving erratically south of his residence and hitting curbs and he fired into the vehicle “around five times.”
However, police went back to Fremont Avenue and found several more spent shell casings of 9 mm ammunition on the road.
“(The owner) fired approximately 11 rounds into the direction of the vehicle in an attempt to stop the person from stealing his truck and stop Arvizo from driving erratically and potentially seriously injuring or killing another person with the truck,” the affidavit states.
The truck owner apologized to police for not telling them about the shooting and “advised he was just afraid of what may happen.”
He told police he had a Springfield 9 mm and a Glock 9 mm but only shot the Springfield at the truck.
Empty Handgun
Police found the Springfield handgun on the floorboard of the front passenger side of a black Ford passenger car driven by the owner in pursuit of his pickup.
“The firearm was empty and slide locked to the read indicating the firearm had likely shot every round that it was loaded with,” the affidavit states.
Arvizo showed signs of being under the influence of a narcotic, according to the affidavit.
He was taken to Banner Wyoming Medical Center for blood tests and attempted to fight with medical staff in the ambulance, according to the affidavit. A search warrant was obtained for a blood test.
Police initially arrested him on charges of driving under the influence and felony theft.
Police confiscated the truck owner’s firearms and searched for any stray bullet damage along the Freemont Avenue block and potential trajectory path from the handgun.
“Several houses in the area were checked for additional bullet strikes but nothing was located,” the affidavit states.
Casper Circuit Court staff said Arvizo is expected to face initial appearance on his charges Monday.
Police reported the case remains under investigation and did not immediately return a call seeking more information about the potential for charges against the pickup’s owner.
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
