Newark New Jersey police are looking for a man accused of stealing a car with a child still inside the vehicle.
According to officials, the suspect took a car that had been parked outside an auto dealership on the 900 block of 18th Avenue in Lower Valisburg, NJ. The theft incident occurred early in the morning.
The driver of the car left the engine running as he stepped outside to speak with someone. The owner of the vehicle also left his sleeping child inside.
A few minutes after the suspect allegedly sped off with the child, he stopped the vehicle and abandoned it along Spencer Street.
Thankfully, the child was not injured as a result of the theft incident.
Newark NJ police responded to the scene and investigated the auto theft. The Newark Police department Robbery Squad is actively investigating the theft incident.
If investigators can eventually identify and apprehend the suspect, he would likely be subject to criminal charges for auto theft and kidnapping. As set forth by N.J.S.A. 2C:20-3, the minimum charge for the unlawful taking of an automobile is third degree auto theft. A conviction for third degree auto theft could result in a sentence of 3-5 years in NJ State Prison.
For more information about this case, go to the NJ.com article entitled “Thief Stole Car with Sleeping Child Still Inside, Newark Authorities Say.”