The South Burlington man, known colloquially as âPizza Manâ has asked to withdraw a guilty plea for reportedly trying to buy a firearm.
Michael A. Gonzalez, pleaded guilty on Jan. 8 to attempting to buy a gun despite being banned from gun ownership because of a pending felony charge of aggravated assault in a domestic violence incident. On a purchase form, he said he had no felonies in motion, records show.
Under a plea deal Gonzalez was told if he stayed out of trouble and remained in Vermont until his sentencing in May, his penalty would be equal to the 10 months he spent in prison while awaiting to resolve his gun case. He was released on conditions.
Madeline Hughes | Staff Writer
Michael A. Gonzalez, 31, who listed the Champlain Inn at 165 Shelburne Road in Burlington as his current address, is charged with trying to peddle the stolen 2019 Tesla X, valued at about $115,000, at an auto shop in Seabrook, N.H. on Jan. 17, town police reported.
Michael A. Gonzalez Courtesy photo
Federal Court records in Vermont noted Gonzalez fraudulently obtained the luxury car from a Tesla dealer in Mount Kisco, N.Y. in July 2019.
It was unclear where the Tesla has been stashed because Gonzalez only got out of jail on Jan. 8. He had been in custody on state and federal charges, including a federal count of trying to buy a firearm at a Williston gun shop while he was still facing a state felony charge of aggravated domestic assault, records show.