Man suspected of stealing ambulance from Clearlake fire scene

A Clearlake man was arrested Friday suspected of stealing and ransacking an ambulance that had responded to the scene of a wildfire, according to the Clearlake Police Department.

Fire and police officials were able to find and capture Derrick Kyle Schuleter, 24, by tracking a cellphone that had been inside the ambulance, which belongs to the Lake County Fire Protection District, police said. The suspect and the ambulance were located on a dirt driveway near Morgan Valley Road.

Schuleter, his hands bloodied from the escapade, was walking down the road when he was apprehended. The heavily damaged ambulance was found some distance away. The cargo area had been ransacked and a recreational vehicle parked nearby had been vandalized, police said.

Schuleter admitted to taking the ambulance from the scene of the fire, police said.

He was booked on suspicion of theft of an emergency vehicle while on an emergency call, tampering with a motor vehicle, malicious mischief, several counts of possession of stolen property and driving without a license.