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Man jailed for stealing ambulance with patient and paramedic inside
Marshall Leese, 32, has been jailed for 21 months after stealing an ambulance outside Royal Stoke University Hospital while a paramedic and an elderly patient were inside. He drove for more than 20 minutes, including through red lights, putting the people in the vehicle and others on the road at risk.
The patient, a man in his 80s taking blood thinners, was being treated for a head injury, and the paramedic said he was terrified during the drive. Leese, who admitted false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking, was experiencing delusions linked to daily use of the synthetic drug monkey dust; he was caught after fleeing at a petrol station and hiding in nearby woodland.
In short
- Leese stole an ambulance with a patient and paramedic inside.
- He drove erratically for more than 20 minutes and ran red lights.
- The court sentenced him to 21 months in prison.
Explained simply
Ambulances carry patients who need urgent medical care, alongside paramedics who monitor and treat them. A patient with a head injury may need close observation, and blood-thinning medicines can make bleeding harder to control.
Monkey dust is a name for a group of synthetic stimulant drugs, which can affect a person’s thinking and behaviour. The account says Leese was experiencing delusions linked to daily use of the drug; the case involved both the risk to those in the ambulance and the danger created for other road users.
Read the full article at the source →
Originally published by Daily Mail as “Monkey dust addict who stole ambulance with elderly patient and paramedic in the back is jailed”.