The man suspected of taking a possible COVID-19 specimen from Sutter Davis Hospital was scheduled to make his first court appearance Wednesday afternoon.
Shaun Lamar Moore, 40, remained in Yolo County Jail custody on a $12,500 bail hold Tuesday, facing charges of burglary and theft under false pretenses. His arraignment was scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Wednesday via videoconference from the jail, one of a number of modifications the court has implemented due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Yolo County District Attorney’s officials said Tuesday they had received a police report in the case but had not yet filed a complaint.
Davis police arrested Moore shortly before noon Sunday, nearly 24 hours after a man matching his description walked into Sutter Davis Hospital, took a packaged specimen awaiting testing for COVID-19 and left on a bicycle.
Officers recovered the specimen that evening inside a shopping cart at the CVS store at The Marketplace and returned it to the hospital, where staff confirmed that several layers of protective seals remained undisturbed.
Deputy Police Chief Paul Doroshov identified Moore as a local transient, his identification determined after an officer “used their community policing skills to talk to members of our homeless community,” he said. Police spotted him riding his bicycle along Cowell Boulevard in South Davis and took him into custody.
His alleged motive remains under investigation.
“Davis police are familiar with Moore and are determining whether any mental health conditions played a factor in this incident,” the Davis Police Department said in a social media post announcing Moore’s arrest. “Although the incident is very serious, detectives do not believe he intended to harm himself or others.”
Sutter Health officials say they are investigating how a member of the public was able to gain access to the specimen.
“Sutter Davis Hospital is committed to providing high-quality care to the Yolo County community and beyond. We take this situation very seriously. We are conducting our own internal investigation, as well as working closely with county officials and law enforcement on the matter,” a spokesperson said in a statement released Sunday.
— Reach Lauren Keene at lkeene@davisenterprise.net or 530-747-8048. Follow her on Twitter at @laurenkeene