It was a simple warrant arrest. What Hermiston man did next shocked police

A Hermiston man surprised officers after he was arrested on warrants when he announced he had swallowed 10 grams of meth.

Police stopped Matthew Santiago Gilbert, 36, on Friday just before 9 p.m. to talk about a theft that happened in Umatilla. As they were talking to him, they learned he was wanted on warrants for failing to show up in court.

He was arrested without incident, but as officers started processing him for jail, they learned he had swallowed the drugs, hoping to avoid getting caught with them.

Instead he got a trip to Good Shepherd Hospital, where he was kept under watch for a day and a half to make sure he would be all right.

After being cleared by medical personnel, authorities brought him to Umatilla County jail, were he was booked on his warrants along with a new charge of tampering with evidence because he swallowed the drugs.

Lt. Randy Studebaker said it’s frustrating to spend time guarding someone who is avoiding jail because of a self-induced illness.

“We have an obligation to care for people who are in our custody, and we will absolutely continue to do so, but we can’t allow situations like this to be used as a ‘get out of jail free’ card,” he said as part of a Facebook post.