Michael Mitchell
FRESNO – The man Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer referred to as Fresno’s “most dangerous criminal” was arrested on Tuesday afternoon in the Tower District.
Michael Mitchell was one of the five most wanted men in Fresno that Dyer recently asked for the public’s assistance in finding. He is believed to have been involved in at least seven shootings in the city, including a recent case in which he allegedly opened fire on a man and woman driving in their car.
An undercover officer spotted Mitchell in the Tower District around 1 p.m. on Tuesday and began following the car in which he was a passenger, police said.
When the driver and Mitchell realized they were being followed, Mitchell jumped out of the car near Wishon and Olive avenues and began running east on Elizabeth Avenue, according to authorities.
Mitchell changed clothes at some point, but a bystander tipped police off to his location and officers discovered him hiding behind a wooden fence, according to authorities. Mitchell then raised his hands and surrendered, police said.
Of the five men Dyer named last week as the city’s most wanted – including Mitchell – three are now in jail. Still at large are 19-year-old Adell Vaughn and 27-year-old Christopher Richards.
