US man accused of stealing ambulance to drive to stolen-car court hearing

An Oklahoma man who could not find a ride to a criminal court hearing on accusations that he had stolen a car worsened his legal peril by stealing an ambulance service’s truck and driving himself to the courthouse, authorities allege.

The bizarre case centers on Kody Adams, who was recently at a gasoline station in the community of Stillwater asking passersby whether they would drive him to Pawnee – about 30 minutes away – so that he could attend a court hearing there, as the Oklahoma highway patrol tells it.

Adams was due in court on charges of possessing a stolen vehicle, the state highway patrol said in a Facebook post dated 27 September. And when no one could bring him, he commandeered an ambulance service supervisor’s pickup that had been left running as well as unattended, and Adams drove it to Pawnee, the highway patrol’s Preston Cox told the Oklahoma news outlet KOCO .

He ditched the pickup, showed up to court – and was arrested by a highway patrol trooper as he walked into the courthouse for his hearing, according to the agency.

The trooper, Ryan Long, accompanied Adams to his court date. But then Long also took Adams to the jail and booked him with new charges after Adam allegedly said he had merely been “borrowing” the pickup.

“Here’s one you don’t see everyday,” the highway patrol’s post about Adams’s arrest said.

Facebook users flooded the highway patrol’s post on Adams with comments having fun at the arrested man’s expense.

“At least he tried,” read one of the more typical comments.

Another added: “I’ve been around this stuff for almost 30 years now. I always tell people, no matter what, make sure you show up for your court date. This guy may have taken that a little bit too far.”

But other expressed sympathy for Adams. One said it was wrong for “laughing at him for trying to do right” when confronted with a “lose-lose” situation.

“Our justice system is such a joke,” said one user who was critical of the Oklahoma highway patrol for deciding to purportedly “make a meme out of someone who’s suffering”.

“Judge not lest ye be judged,” that user also remarked.