A MAN stole an ambulance from outside a hospital while a patient was being treated in the back.
cops said they were called to a report of a man taking the emergency vehicle from the Royal Stoke University Hospital at about 8.15pm on March 25.
Marshall Leese, pictured, pleaded guilty to the charges against him when he appeared in court Credit: Staffordshire Police
Leese stole the ambulance from outside the Royal Stoke University Hospital Credit: Alamy
The ambulance was parked in a triage bay at the hospital in “run lock” mode, which keeps the vehicle running but allows paramedics to remove the keys from the ignition, the force said.
While a paramedic was treating a patient in the back of the ambulance, 32-year-old Marshall Leese got inside and drove away.
Appearing at Crown on Tuesday, Leese, from Hanley, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and the aggravated vehicle taking of the Ducato ambulance and driving it dangerously between the hospital and London Road, in Chesterton, Newcastle-under-Lyme.
Leese, who wore a grey tracksuit, smiled and waved at a woman in the public gallery at the start of the hearing.
He also pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis at New Cross Hospital and using a motor vehicle without third party on March 25.
Staffordshire said officers tracked the ambulance, which cuts off after a period of time in “run lock” mode.
Leese ran off into woodland after abandoning the ambulance at an Esso petrol station and was bitten on the hand by a police dog after failing to comply with instructions.
In his police interview, Leese denied the offences and instead said that he was in the area and looking for a friend before he was approached by the police dog and bitten.
Judge Sally Hancox, who said the case was “unusual”, adjourned sentencing to a date to be fixed.
She told Leese, who spoke only to confirm his name and enter his pleas during the hearing: “Thank you for coming to court this morning.
“I will now formally adjourn this case for sentence.
“You are remanded into custody.”
Eze Chidiebere Paul
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