A rideshare driver that unknowingly picked up a wanted fugitive in Ripon on Monday afternoon had his vehicle taken at gunpoint.

And the man responsible for the vehicle theft – that has managed to evade capture by three different San Joaquin County law enforcement agencies over the last month – is still at large. 

Joshua Michael Silver, 29, was spotted by Ripon police officers on Monday riding in a rideshare vehicle and followed it into Manteca where they attempted to execute a felony vehicle stop. 

The driver of the vehicle initially did pull over before getting out of the vehicle, and the passenger climbed into the front seat of the vehicle before fleeing and leading Ripon and Manteca patrol units on a chase through Manteca where he ultimately lost his pursuers. 

The vehicle was found abandoned on E. Yosemite Avenue, and while responding officers set up a perimeter to try and prevent Silver from escaping, he was ultimately never caught. 

A longtime criminal that served time in California prison for his crimes, Silver was being watched last month by the Delta Regional Auto Theft Task Force who was staked out at a home in the Powers Tract neighborhood. When Silver left the residence and climbed into the vehicle with a female passenger, officers from the task force as well as the Manteca Police Department street crimes unit attempted to corral the vehicle but were unsuccessful in preventing Silver from leaving. After a short pursuit that was called off because of the unsafe speeds that Silver was exhibiting through moderate to heavy traffic, he managed to slip away. 

And that was just the start of what has been a nearly month-long game of cat-and-mouse with local law enforcement agencies. 

Almost two weeks ago the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Office announced that they too were looking for Silver and another man, Matthew John Machen, after they were spotted near the town of Clements in northeastern San Joaquin County and led deputies on not one but two separate pursuits on consecutive days – evading capture both times. 

Silver is believed to be armed and extremely dangerous, and anybody with information about his whereabouts is encouraged to contact the local law enforcement in their respective community, or to call 911 immediately upon seeing him. Silver has arrests for a number of crimes dating back more than a decade, and authorities are warning people not to approach him if he’s seen on the street, and to get as much relevant information as is safely possible about any vehicle he may been seen driving or riding in so that officers can apprehend him. 

To contact reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.3544.