Arrest aborted in July

A couple of months ago, Clark County Fire Department paramedic Samuel Bond was caught red-handed at the first of the 11 drug robberies to which he later confessed, according to the police report regarding his Sunday arrest.

But on July 19, after Las Vegas police had read Bond his Miranda rights in connection with the theft of a narcotics pack from a Fire Department ambulance, fire officials asked police to let them handle the matter internally, the report said. The officers acquiesced, and Bond was able to continue stealing drugs from other ambulances through the end of September, according to the report.

The report said the reason the Fire Department gave for the request to back off on July 19 was that "there had been a problem with Clark County Fire Department's inventorying procedures."

Another firefighter who was in the front of the ambulance that day had caught Bond sneaking into the back of the vehicle at the Fire Department training center at 4425 W. Tropicana, the report said.

The firefighter told police that he "heard the sounds of zippers being opened and then witnessed Bond place an unknown item in his pocket. ... He then watched Bond use a cellular phone to take a picture of the EMS compartment," the arrest report said.

Bond, 35, told the two Las Vegas police officers who were called to the training center that he was taking pictures of the compartment, but that he did not unzip any bags. He admitted he had no legitimate reason to be in the ambulance, police wrote.

Las Vegas police spokesman Bill Cassell said Wednesday night that he had not read the arrest report and that he could say little about why the officers complied with the Fire Department request. But, he said, the situation might have been a case of not having probable cause to make the arrest. There is also the issue of whether a victim is willing to press charges.

"Just like any other organization, if the Fire Department wishes to handle something internally, it's up to them to go forward with charges. We're not going to force someone to sign an arrest report," Cassell said.

The report said that after the July incident, Bond "later disclosed to the Clark County Fire Department Chief that he had a dependency problem."

The July 19 incident was the first in a string of robberies to which Bond, an employee of the department for more than six years, confessed, the report said. Police said Bond told them he was a "habitual drug user" and was "forced" to start stealing the drugs after he was banned from all of the Fire Department's stations.

Bond also admitted to police that when he had been working as a paramedic, he would inject 2 milligrams of morphine into a patient and save the remaining 8 milligrams for himself, the arrest report said.

Bond said he was able to enter most of the fire stations he targeted by using a security code he had been given while a paramedic. Bond told police the same combination was used at several locations.

Fire Department spokesman Scott Allison said after Bond's arrest, changes were made. All entrances to every fire station now must be locked at all times, and any time a door is unlocked, it must be watched by someone, Allison said.

Security systems at each fire station were upgraded, and the locks were changed, Allison said. But, he added, "the thing that is going to keep this from happening again is that Sam Bond is in jail."

The department employs 156 paramedics. Allison said that as far as he knew, Bond's case represented the first time that one has been arrested on narcotics theft charges.

Allison said Bond was placed on unpaid administrative leave Friday. Police said in the arrest report that Bond told them he was placed on administrative leave and forbidden to be inside any Fire Department building after a supervisor suspected him of stealing drugs from the training center.

Allison said earlier in the week that sometime before his arrest, Bond was on unauthorized leave. Allison did not specify for how long.

Allison could not be reached Wednesday night to clarify the timelines or to answer other questions regarding what is in the arrest report.

Police arrested Bond on Sunday after they said he was caught breaking into a MedicWest ambulance at Desert Springs Hospital. When police searched Bond's 2002 Ford truck, they found burglary tools including lock picks, a lock-pick gun and pry tools, the report said. Also inside the truck was a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol, the report said.

Police said they then went to his home and found a stockpile of additional guns, two 10-milligram vials of stolen morphine and two 10-milligram vials of stolen Valium.

Officers said that Bond's two children, ages 7 and 10, had been "left alone by Bond while he was committing these burglaries."

Officers said, "Located next to the bed where the 10-year-old was found sleeping was a loaded shotgun; also a loaded firearm, a handgun, was located next to the child."

Twenty-six more guns were found inside a safe at the house, police said.

Bond was booked into jail on one charge of possession of burglary tools, possession of stolen property and attempted burglary, two counts of possession of dangerous drugs without prescriptions, four counts of auto burglary, five counts of being illegally in possession of firearms and eight counts of burglary.