State regulators also imposed an emergency suspension on the EMT’s certification days after his arrest in the Fort Bend County case.
SUGAR LAND, TX — An emergency medical technician for a private ambulance company has been arrested after authorities accused him of indecently assaulting a woman with quadriplegia while she was being transported in an ambulance earlier this year.
Donavan Perkins was arrested Nov. 3 by U.S. Marshals at an apartment complex on Buffalo Speedway, according to a report by KTRK-TV citing the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office and court documents. The Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office accepted an indecent assault charge involving a disabled individual in October. The allegations have not been proven in court.
The woman told investigators the alleged assault happened in April after an ambulance operated by Missouri Health Services picked her up from a physical therapy appointment at a Sugar Land hospital. Authorities said Perkins was working in the back of the ambulance with the patient during the trip.
Court documents described alleged sexual conduct by Perkins while the woman was unable to easily move away from him. Investigators said Perkins used a pillow in an apparent effort to obstruct the ambulance driver’s view. The woman refused a sexual request, according to the records. Authorities said investigators later collected her shirt as evidence.
Investigators identified Perkins in part because he had used the patient’s phone to send a message to himself, according to the court records cited by KTRK. Testing of biological material recovered from the woman’s shirt produced a DNA profile that investigators said was connected to another sexual assault investigation in Montgomery County.
In that separate case, authorities accused Perkins of engaging in sexual conduct with another patient. Court documents said prosecutors in Montgomery County declined to accept charges in that matter. The records cited in the report did not explain the decision, and no criminal charge from that investigation was reported.
The Texas Department of State Health Services took separate regulatory action after Perkins’ arrest. The agency’s public enforcement records show that it imposed an emergency suspension on his emergency medical technician certification on Nov. 9. State rules allow such suspensions when regulators have reasonable cause to believe a certificate holder’s conduct poses a danger to public health or safety.
Missouri Health Services initially suspended Perkins while the criminal investigation was pending, a company representative told KTRK. After the news organization informed the representative that Perkins had been arrested, the representative said Perkins was fired.
The Fort Bend County case remains based on allegations, and the available reports did not identify a trial date or describe a final disposition of the charge. Perkins’ state EMT certification remained listed under an emergency suspension as of Thursday.
Author note: Last updated November 12, 2026.