A man who is accused of stealing a Dallas Fire-Rescue ambulance and leading police on an hourslong chase earlier this month had visited the station the previous day and asked about becoming a firefighter.
Felix Lopez, 19, was arrested and charged with a felony count of second-degree theft of property after he allegedly drove off with an ambulance from the department's Station 53 on April 5, KXAS-TV reports. A chase lasted for nearly two hours, and Lopez was taken into custody when he tried to flee on foot after apparently bottoming out the ambulance on a curb.
According to a police arrest affidavit, Lopez had stopped by Station 53 the day before and was asking personnel about how to join the department. Firefighter Paul Richter, who works out of Station 53, told police that Lopez, wearing a mask and gloves, made him feel "very uncomfortable" during the visit.
Richter said he also had seen Lopez at a recent accident scene. At the time, Lopez had asked firefighters to call police because he claimed he had been assaulted.
