A man under the influence of monkey dust hijacked an ambulance with an elderly patient inside from outside Royal Stoke University Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent on March 25, leading terrified medics on a 20-minute ordeal through red lights and busy roads.
Marshall Leese, 32, ignored desperate pleas to stop after climbing into the Fiat Ducato ambulance and driving off while a patient was still being treated in the rear, dramatic CCTV footage shown at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court revealed.
Delusions and a second vehicle
The court heard Leese had been suffering delusions caused by monkey dust and had only moments earlier been "ushered out" of a different ambulance by paramedics before targeting a second vehicle. The vehicle was left on "run lock" mode, which keeps the ambulance running while allowing paramedics to remove the keys from the ignition, enabling Leese to hijack it.
Prosecutor Robert Holt said a paramedic initially assumed a colleague with the keys had got back behind the wheel before realising a stranger was driving away. He shouted: "Who the f*** are you? You need to pull over, there are people in the back here."
Mr Holt added: "The defendant did not reply or make any effort to pull over the vehicle. The speed being driven at was not significant but he was going through red lights."
Patient at risk
A man in his 80s, and on blood thinners at the time, was being treated for a head injury in the back of the ambulance, the court was told. Mr Holt continued: "If the ambulance crashed with him on board, there would have been no chance of survival."
Leese was later arrested after stopping at a petrol station in nearby Chesterton, where he attempted to hide from pursuing officers.
Guilty plea and sentencing
Leese, of Denbigh Street in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment and aggravated vehicle taking. He also pleaded guilty to failing to provide a specimen for analysis at Wolverhampton New Cross Hospital and using a motor vehicle without third-party insurance.
On Tuesday (November 10), Leese was sentenced to 21 months' imprisonment. Jennifer Devans-Tamakloe, defending Leese, said he led an "extraordinarily difficult and chaotic lifestyle", adding: "He has been abusing alcohol and drugs for a significant length of time."
A "daily use of monkey dust has a negative impact on his mental state", she explained to the court, causing him to experience delusions and paranoia leading up to the offence. He thought he was "being controlled" and "receiving coded messages" at the time of the incident.
Appearing via video-link from HMP Dovegate near Uttoxeter in Staffordshire, Leese, who has 16 convictions for 22 previous offences, was told by Recorder Ben Williams KC: "You continued to drive the ambulance, by my calculations, for more than 20 minutes.
"You weren't driving at high speeds and you were, it's visible on the footage, exercising a degree of care about other vehicles. But you were driving erratically and going through red lights, therefore putting other people at risk."
The judge added that the paramedic in the ambulance, who was with the elderly man and his carer, was mainly concerned about the patient but "described himself as being terrified about the whole situation".
