NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A Hamden man is facing charges after police said he stole a car with a baby inside yesterday evening.
The child was in the backseat of a light-colored Mercedes in front of the Boost mobile on Dixwell Avenue at the corner of Woodin Street in Hamden.
According to Hamden Police, the driver of the car had just gotten out to go into a store leaving the car unlocked and the keys in the ignition.
A witness tells FOX61 he saw the suspect run-up to the car and jump into the driver’s seat. The suspect then sped off going south down Dixwell.
Local and State Police were notified and began to help in the search. Central Communications was in the process of broadcasting an AMBER Alert.
While Police were examining surveillance footage of the incident, Yale Police spotted a car matching the description of the Mercedes nearly two and a half miles away from the scene by the “To Go” gas station at 1 Whalley Avenue.
Yale Police say the officers pulled the car over finding the suspect and the child in the car.
Arrested was Richardson Wong-Aponte. He was charged with kidnapping 2nd, risk of injury to a minor, and larceny 3rd. He was detained on a $250,000 bond.
The child was taken to the hospital to be evaluated but police say nothing appears to be wrong. A family member rode with the six-month-old baby boy to the hospital in an ambulance.
Hamden police say the suspect has been arrested on multiple charges including kidnapping. The arrest came just one hour and fifteen minutes after the initial call.