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Carjacking suspect admits to using meth night before he stole squad car

Posted at 4:08 PM, Aug 03, 2016
and last updated 2016-08-03 19:34:52-04

UPDATE Aug. 3, 2016: Carjacking suspect admits to using meth night before he stole squad car, injuring an officer, according to criminal complaint obtained by NBC26.

Michael Lawrenz is now facing 21 charges in all stemming from a crime spree on Saturday, July 23rd spanning three counties. 
 
Those charges include:
 
- Robbery with Use of Force
- Resisting an Officer
- Obstructing an Officer, Causing a Soft Tissue Injury
- Felony Criminal Damage to Property
- Attempt Escape
- Disorderly Conduct
- two (2) counts Operating a Motor Vehicle without Owner's Consent
- four (4) counts Second Degree Recklessly Endangering Safety
- six (6) counts Felony Bail Jumping
- two (2) counts Misdemeanor Bail Jumping
 
Lawrenz waived his preliminary hearing in Outagamie Co. court today.
 
We now know police initially went to Pawn America in Grand Chute around 6:30 Saturday evening on reports of a stolen vehicle in the area.
 
The criminal complaint says, when police first spotted Lawrenz exiting Pawn America, he hid behind bushes outside the store.
 
After approaching to I.D.. him, police say Lawrenz initially gave them a false identity. Soon after, police say they informed Lawrenz that he was going to have his fingerprints scanned on scene.
 
But when the officer turned to talk to other officers on scene, the complaint says that's when Lawrenz hopped in the driver's seat of a squad car. 
 
Officers, including Grand Chute Police Lieutenant Todd Zolkowski, fought to pull Lawrenz from the driver's seat of the squad car to no avail. The ensuing struggle resulted in the driver's side door of the car being left open.
 
That's when Lawrenz allegedly threw it into reverse, and stepped on the gas as police fought to stop him. The squad car's open driver door would strike Zolkowski, knocking him to the ground. During the attempt to flee, the complaint says Lawrenz came within inches of either running over, or striking other officers. 
 
Two officers within 3-5 ft. of the stolen squad car started firing their guns at Lawrenz as the complaint says he put the car in drive, and began driving at them. Lawrenz would be struck by gunfire, but not enough to stop him as he fled the scene at speeds of 70-100 miles per hour.
 
The complaint says damage estimates to the squad car would exceed $7,000.
 
The complaint also says, 20 minutes later, Lawrenz used the squad car to pull over a Pontiac Grand Am near the intersection of Fourth St. And Outagamie St..
 
The woman driving says Lawrenz approached her car with blood on his shirt and face, opened her door, and told her "get out of the car, it was an emergency." 
 
The driver refused, but Lawrenz allegedly grabber her shirt, and pulled her from the car before driving away. 
 

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GRAND CHUTE, Wis. -- - An officer with the Grand Chute police department has been found justified in the shooting incident outside of a Pawn America on July 23.

Michael Lawrenz faces 14 charges, including robbery with use of force, operating a motor vehicle without owner's consent, felony criminal damage to property, escape; attempt, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct, 6 counts of felony bail jumping and 2 counts of misdemeanor bail jumping.

Lawrenz was ordered to have no contact with his victims.

Lawrenz attempted to escape from the Outagamie County Jail.

The judge granted $500,000 bond for the homeless man who has not ties to the area.

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The Appleton Police Department is continuing to investigate a strong arm robbery and carjacking that started in Grand Chute Saturday night.

Police say at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday, July 23, Grand Chute Police were called to the parking lot of Pawn America, in the town of Grand Chute. During this call a man, now identified by police as Michael J. Lawrenz, was involved in a physical disturbance where a police supervisor was injured. During this disturbance several Grand Chute Police Officers fired shots at the suspect and struck him before he fled the area in a Grand Chute Police Department squad car.

After leaving the area of the Pawn America incident, police say the suspect drove the squad car, with emergency lights going, into Appleton. In the 1500 block of West Fourth Street, the suspect stopped the squad car, approached another vehicle and forced a 35-year-old woman out of that vehicle. 

After stealing the second vehicle, police say the suspect left Appleton and drove north on I-41 into Brown County where Sheriff's Deputies located and pursued the vehicle, stopping the suspect and took him into custody.

Police say Lawrenz admitted his criminal involvement in a number of incidents in the Fox Valley.

A strong arm robbery charge has been requested against Michael J. Lawrenz.

A second person, who was inside the Pawn America store during the incident, was found by the Calumet County Sheriff's Department. He was questioned and then confined at the Outagamie County Jail on warrants from other jurisdictions. He was not directly involved in the carjacking incident.

Those who witnessed the incidents in Grand Chute or Appleton are asked to contact the Appleton Police Department at 920-832-5500 to give a statement.

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UPDATE July 25, 2016: Injured Grand Chute officer Todd Zolkowski tells NBC26 he's in good spirits as he begins long journey to recovery.

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UPDATE July 25, 2016: One of the suspects in Saturday's carjacking incident has been identified as Michael Lawrenz.

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Two men are in custody and a Grand Chute police officer is injured after an incident in Grand Chute Saturday. One of those suspects was shot by police as he tried to leave the scene.

Grand Chute police were called out to the Pawn America store on N. Westhill Boulevard around 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Officers located two men and spoke with them before deciding to call for help from a supervisor.

The supervising officer arrived to help identify the two men with help from a fingerprint scan. During that time, Grand Chute police say the incident quickly escalated into a physical confrontation between the two suspects and the two police officers.

One of the suspects, a 36-year-old man, managed to get into the driver's seat of one of the police department's cars. Officers tried to get him out of the vehicle. Additional Grand Chute officers arrived at this point and multiple shots were fired by officers at the police car with the suspect. He was hit by gunfire but was able to drive away.

One of the officers was also hurt when the suspect backed the police car into another police car. That officer has a non-life threatening injury, but the extent of the injury is not known.

The man that stole the car in the Pawn America parking lot drove it as far as Fourth and Outagamie Street before he carjacked a vehicle from a woman. She was not hurt during the carjacking.

The suspect drove the car to I-41 where the Brown County Sheriff's Department tried to stop the car. At 7:21 p.m. the car was stopped at Freedom Road and I-41 by Brown County deputies.

Earlier in the night the second person that Grand Chute Police were speaking with, snuck away from Pawn America. He had called a cab company and was trying to return to the Manitowoc area.

Police called the cab company and the 25-year-old man was stopped by Calumet County officers and was brought to the Appleton Police Department.

The shooting investigation at Pawn America and the carjacking are being overseen by the Appleton Police Department.

Police believe that all involved individuals have been identified and are in custody.