Clearlake >> Police used a cellphone to track down an ambulance stolen as firefighters were battling a blaze Friday morning.
Fire Chief Willie Sapeta and detective Elvis Cook found the stolen medic unit heavily damaged with the rear cargo area ransacked in an apparent attempt to try and steal medication and supplies, Police Sgt. Rodd N. Joseph said in a press release early Friday afternoon. It was returned to the fire department, but has been taken out of service for repairs.
Clearlake officers got a tip about the stolen ambulance at about 7 a.m. when, according to reports, an unauthorized man was using the emergency radio in the medic unit.
At the time of this call, Lake County Fire Protection District crews were working on a wildland fire off of 18th Avenue, near St. Helena Hospital, Clear Lake, and personnel confirmed that one of their ambulances had just been stolen from the scene.
One of the firefighters left his phone inside the ambulance, which officials used as a tracking device, leading them to a dirt road in the 21000 block of Morgan Valley Road.
When they arrived, Cook and Sapeta found Derrick Kyle Schuleter with blood on his hands, and he allegedly admitted to have committed the theft.
The Clearlake resident, 24, was found in possession of the tracked cell phone, as well as medical equipment and another phone also left in the ambulance.
A newer recreational vehicle was parked near the stolen ambulance and vandalized as well, Joseph reported. It was yet another crime Schuleter allegedly admitted to committing.
Schuleter was arrested transported back to Clearlake for processing and medical treatment for injuries he sustained during what police referred to as a crime spree.
Schuleter was charged with theft of an emergency vehicle while on an emergency call, tampering with a motor vehicle, malicious mischief to a vehicle, several counts of possession of stolen property and driving without a license. He was booked into the Lake County jail.
