Most people are anxious to avoid a trip in an ambulance, but that apparently was not the case in an incident over the weekend in Santa Barbara.
At about 10 p.m. Saturday, Santa Barbara Police dispatchers received a report that an American Medical Response ambulance had been stolen from the parking lot of the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort at 600 E. Cabrillo Blvd., according to Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale.
Police were able to get the GPS device on the ambulance turned on to provide real-time tracking of the vehicle, Ragsdale said.
“Several minutes after the GPS tracking was activated, officers responded to the area of Garden Street and East Carrillo Street, where they located the ambulance driving north on Garden Street,” Ragsdale told Noozhawk. “A high-risk traffic stop was conducted, and the suspect driver was taken into custody without incident.”
Jacob Martin Barrios, 44, a transient, was arrested on suspicion of felony vehicle theft and driving on a suspended license, as well as several criminal enhancements, Ragsdale said.
His was booked into the Santa Barbara County Jail, where he remained in custody without bail Wednesday afternoon.
“The ambulance was returned to the company undamaged and without any items missing from inside,” Ragsdale said.
Barrios appeared in Santa Barbara Superior Court on Tuesday for arraignment, which was continued, according to online court records.
He is due back in court on Sept. 21 for a mental-competency hearing, according to court records.
— Noozhawk executive editor Tom Bolton can be reached at tbolton@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.