Eureka Police Department spokesperson Brittany Powell confirms that the vehicle in question belongs to the EPD, and was stolen from the city’s corporation yard about nine hours before the arrest.

Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office:

On Nov. 8, 2020, at about 8:55 a.m., Humboldt County Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to the 5200 block of Rohnerville Road near Fortuna for the report of an unresponsive male sitting in the front seat of a parked vehicle.

Due to a possible medical emergency taking place, Sheriff’s deputies requested the assistance of the Fortuna Police Department to provide aid to the individual prior to deputy arrival. However, when Fortuna police officers arrived on scene, the individual was no longer inside the vehicle.

 

Deputies arrived on scene and through further investigation learned that the vehicle had been stolen from the Eureka Police Department. Deputies searched the area surrounding the vehicle for evidence and located 32-year-old Lance Eric Ostlund of Fortuna hiding in the brush.

Based upon evidence located on scene and statements from Ostlund, Ostlund was taken into custody and booked into the Humboldt County Correctional Facility on charges of possession of stolen property (PC 496(a)), possession of a stolen vehicle (PC 496d(a)), vehicle theft (VC 10851(a)), vandalism (PC 594(b)(1)), petty theft (PC 488) and violation of probation (PC 1203.2(a)(2)).

This case is still under investigation.

Anyone with information about this case or related criminal activity is encouraged to call the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office at (707) 445-7251 or the Sheriff’s Office Crime Tip line at (707) 268-2539.