Max Wade, incarcerated since boyhood for a notorious Bay Area crime spree, finally had a shot at freedom.

This week, it slipped through his fingers.

Wade, 32, is serving a sentence of 21 years to life in prison for a series of crimes in 2012 that included attempted murder. Between his time in jail before trial and his prison time after, the former San Rafael resident has been in custody about half his life.

Among other offenses, authorities said, Wade tried to kill a romantic rival in a drive-by shooting in Mill Valley; stole a $200,000 Lamborghini that belonged to Guy Fieri, the Santa Rosa restaurateur and television showman; and brandished a loaded gun at detectives when they came to arrest him at a Richmond storage center.

Investigators also said Wade had plans to sell the Lamborghini to a dealership in the Dominican Republic, and developed a scheme to rob a San Francisco jewelry store and escape by helicopter.

Wade, who was 17 when he was arrested, was prosecuted as an adult in Marin County Superior Court. He is now in custody at San Quentin prison.

In July 2024, a state parole panel recommended that he be released. Such recommendations set off a process of review and potential opposition.

In October 2024, the governor’s office referred the case to the full parole board for review. The full board affirmed the decision the following month, with the earliest possible release date in December 2028, according to the state prisons department.

But in May 2025, a prison officer allegedly caught Wade with a cellphone. The parole board ordered a hearing on whether the parole grant should be revoked.

The rescission hearing was postponed several times in the ensuing months before it went forward on Tuesday.

Wade told the three-member parole panel that he kept improving himself and contributing to the prison community after his initial parole grant.

“For the past 15 months, my future has been uncertain, but I am continuing to build,” he said from prison in a teleconference.

Wade also said he recently completed a gun violence prevention program at San Quentin.

Parole commissioners reviewed the cellphone incident as they evaluated whether Wade would pose a risk to the public if released.

A San Quentin officer testified that he discovered the cellphone tucked into Wade’s waistband. He recalled seeing Wade attempting to hide an object under his laptop earlier.

Wade alleged that the officer smuggled the phone into prison and targeted him in a setup. The officer said Wade was lying. A lieutenant later told the panel that Wade admitted to having the phone.

Details on how Wade was able to obtain the phone or whom he contacted with the device were not shared in the Tuesday hearing.

Wade’s attorney, Tracy Lum, did not dispute that Wade had a phone.

“Nobody seemed to care how or why it was in his possession,” she said, referring to prison authorities.

Lum reiterated Wade’s allegations of officer misconduct. Commissioners denied her request to continue the rescission hearing in order for there to be an independent investigation.

Lum also said that Wade has remained nonviolent and earned college degrees in prison.

Marin County Deputy District Attorney Cassandra Edwards told commissioners that Wade still poses a risk to the public.

“Since his parole was granted, he slipped into old behavior,” Edwards said.

After testimony and closing arguments from both attorneys, commissioners chose to rescind Wade’s parole. But he is eligible for another parole suitability hearing that is tentatively scheduled for January.

“We are pleased with the decision,” Marin County District Attorney Lori Frugoli said Tuesday.