Three people arrested for allegedly kidnapping patient from Novato hospital

Story by Molly Burke

Police arrested three suspects for kidnapping an “at-risk” patient under a conservatorship from a Novato hospital Saturday, officials said. © Rafe Swan, Getty Image

Police arrested three people accused of kidnapping a 60-year-old patient and assaulting a nurse at a Novato hospital late Saturday morning, officials said.

Police said that three people entered the medical facility through the back of the building around 11 a.m., abducted a patient and assaulted a nurse who tried to stop them. The suspects then fled in a car toward South Novato Boulevard, police said.

The patient was “at-risk” and under a conservatorship, a legal arrangement that gives another person or group the power to make personal and financial decisions for people deemed unable to care for themselves, police said.

The suspects were not the patient’s conservators, police said, but they “were known” to the patient. Investigators allege that the suspects “attempted to fraudulently obtain conservatorship for financial gain by kidnapping the victim.”

Novato police notified nearby law enforcement agencies following the incident, and Marin County sheriff’s deputies located the suspect car on Highway 101 about 20 minutes later, police said. The deputies stopped the car near the Spencer Avenue exit.

Novato police took custody of three suspects, who were in the car, and brought them in for interviews with detectives. The patient, who was also in the car during the stop, was transported to a hospital “as a precaution,” police said.

Police arrested Michael Roberts, 49, Laura Boyle, 61, and Paula Burkes, 57, on suspicion of kidnapping, elder abuse, battery, burglary and conspiracy. The suspects, residents of Dana Point and Mission Viejo in Orange County, are being held in the Marin County Jail.

Investigators also said that a fourth suspect has been identified but not arrested.

Police are seeking charges with the Marin County District Attorney’s Office. 

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Three people arrested for allegedly kidnapping patient from Novato hospital