Hospital’s helicopter is ‘ransacked’ for medical equipment, North Carolina cops say
A man in Western North Carolina is accused of raiding a helicopter parked at a hospital on New Year’s Day, police said.
Jason Alan Roland, 34, was arrested Jan. 2 and charged with breaking and entering and damage to property after staff at Mission Hospital reported one of its helicopters had been broken into, the Asheville Police Department said in a news release Monday.
Mission Hospital is an 815-bed facility in Asheville.
Officers responded to reports of the break-in at 8:30 a.m. on Jan. 1, police said.
“The officers arrived to find that the interior of the aircraft had been ransacked, and that the suspect removed medical equipment before fleeing the scene,” the release states.
At least two thermometers — one valued at $100 — and other medical equipment was reported missing, according to an incident report.
It wasn’t immediately clear Monday how investigators tied Roland to the crime.
Roland was served with three other warrants during his arrest, police said. He’s being held at the Buncombe County Detention Center with a $4,000 secured bond.
