Charges: Man Stole Radio From St. Paul Fire Department Ambulance

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A 22-year-old St. Paul man is accused of stealing equipment from an ambulance while it was on a call on Saturday, according to charges filed in Ramsey County Court.

Javen Nathaniel Strait was charged with theft of public funds and theft in connection with the incident, which happened Saturday afternoon.

According to the charges, an ambulance with the St. Paul Fire Department was called at about 2:30 p.m. Saturday to the L.A. Fitness at 1370 University Avenue West on a medic run. A person identified as "TK" was about to enter the gym to work out when he saw a man with about half his body inside the medic rig for less than 15 seconds. "TK" saw that the man wasn't wearing anything that identified him as a St. Paul Fire Department employee.

"TK" yelled at the man to stop, but he fled on foot and was carrying something in his hand.

The complaint states that "TK" and a fireman chased the suspect and detained him until police arrived. Strait told officers he has mental health issues and was on parole for similar crimes.

Paramedics later discovered that one of their ambulance radios was missing. Fire officials found two radios on Strait when he was detained, but neither of them belonged to the St. Paul Fire Department. One was a stolen Minneapolis Police Department radio. A search located the radio that had been stolen from the medic rig hidden on the axle of a semi-trailer where Strait had been found hiding.

The complaint states Strait told officers he was being chased by four people for no reason. He denied stealing the radio from the medic rig and said he bought two other radios from Craigslist. The radio recovered from the semi-trailer axle is valued at about $2,100. Strait has four other felonies last year that included two thefts, receiving stolen property and third-degree burglary.

Authorities say one of the thefts was radio equipment valued at about $8,300 that was delivered to Strait under a fake name by UPS.

If convicted, Strait faces up to 10 years in jail and a $20,000 fine.