CLEARLAKE, Calif. – Authorities have arrested a Rohnert Park man who attempted to steal a fire department ambulance late last week.

Matthew Christian Holmes, 33, was taken into custody early Thursday, according to Sgt. Tim Hobbs of the Clearlake Police Department.

At 2:20 a.m. Thursday, Clearlake Police officers were dispatched to St. Helena Hospital Clear Lake on 18th Avenue for a report of a subject attempting to steal an ambulance, Hobbs reported.

Hobbs said officers arrived on scene a few minutes later and contacted medical personnel from Lake County Fire Protection District who were standing with a male subject identified as Holmes.

During the investigation officers discovered that medical personnel from the Lake County Fire Protection District had transported a patient to the hospital for an unrelated incident and parked in front of the emergency room ambulance bays, according to Hobbs.

When exiting the emergency room to return to their ambulance and leave the hospital they noticed the driver’s door of the ambulance was open and then it closed, Hobbs said.

At that point, Hobbs said they noticed Holmes in the driver’s seat of the ambulance. Holmes began moving the sun visors and looking around inside the ambulance for the keys. 

One of the paramedics yelled for Homes to get out of the ambulance and Holmes complied, Hobbs said.

Officers interviewed Holmes who admitted he was trying to steal the ambulance so he could take it to Kelseyville. Additionally, Hobbs said Holmes showed signs and symptoms of being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Holmes was arrested and booked into the Lake County Jail for attempted vehicle theft of an ambulance and being under the influence of a controlled substance, with bail set at $10,000. He remained in custody on Sunday evening.

This is the second time this summer that a Lake County Fire Protection District ambulance was a theft target.

On July 29, the Clearlake Police Department arrested 24-year-old Derrick Schuleter of Clearlake after he stole an ambulance from a fire scene and took it to Lower Lake, as Lake County News has reported.
 
Schuleter also remained in custody on Sunday, with bail set at $20,000, according to jail records.