Chronicles of Madness

Mercury News

San Jose police subdued a man slated for a psychiatric evaluation who tried to steal an ambulance, succeeded in making off with a car and then tried to drive away in a police patrol car early this morning.

Officers struggled with the 25-year-old before arresting him on Saratoga Avenue near Interstate 280 around 1 a.m. and after he'd already been Tased once, officer Enrique Garcia said.

The incident started when doctors at Kaiser Medical Center in Santa Clara called to have the man transported to another hospital for a psychiatric evaluation at 11:30 p.m., Garcia said. the man became agitated in the ambulance, Garcia said, and threatened to steal it.

The driver pulled over and got out of the ambulance near the intersection of Saratoga and Stevens Creek Boulevard. He took the keys to ambulance with him.

While the driver called 911, the man -- unable to start the emergency vehicle -- ransacked the front of the ambulance and took off on foot, Garcia said.

Santa Clara police dispatchers took the ambulance driver's call and put out a notice to other police departments to be on the look out for the man.

Meanwhile, the man found a pair of stranded motorists near Kiely Boulevard and Saratoga. He stopped to help them and, just as a San Jose police officer approached the group, jumped into the 4-door 1999 Daewoo that just began working again. the man drove it down the street, Garcia said.

The officer gave chase for less than a block. the man pulled over near where Saratoga meets 280. He got out of the car and the officer walked toward him.

The two then struggled and the man tried to grab the officer's gun, Garcia said. The officer was able to hold him off, but then, according to Garcia, the man ran toward the patrol car and jumped into the driver's seat.

The officer jumped at the man and was hanging half outside of the car as the pair struggled for control of the steering wheel, according to Garcia.

As they struggled, the officer called for back-up. He also fired his Taser at the man.

After the man was Tased, Garcia said, he began driving the patrol car in circles on Saratoga near 280. At this point, according to Garcia, backup officers had arrived.

Ultimately, the man drove the patrol car into a fence and rammed it into two other patrol cars. He then got out of the car and, after another struggle, was arrested by police.

the man, the officer who first struggled with him and a sergeant were taken to the hospital for evaluation.

the man was booked into Santa Clara County Jail. He faces charges of auto theft, attempting to take an officer's handgun, attempted auto theft for trying to take the ambulance and carjacking for forcibly taking control of the police car.