HOLLY HILL, Fla. – A teen was arrested on Tuesday five months after a 2-year-old child was taken during a Holly Hill carjacking, according to the police department.
The 17-year-old from Daytona Beach was arrested on Tuesday and faces charges of kidnapping, child abuse and grand theft.
Police said on the morning of June 1, officers responded to a home along Clifton Avenue after the carjacking was initially reported.
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Police said the child’s mother had pulled into a family member’s driveway and left her SUV running — with the child still inside — as she quickly went into the home to retrieve something, a news release shows.
However, the car was stolen from the driveway within seconds along with the child, investigators said.
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According to officers, a passerby eventually found the child about a half-mile east of the home around 30 minutes later. The passerby called 911 after discovering the child behind a car near his storage unit.
The child suffered no injuries and was soon reunited with the parents, police said.
The release states that days later, a 16-year-old was found driving the stolen vehicle, though he wasn’t charged in the original theft.
His mother had noticed him driving the vehicle and called 911 because he didn’t have a driver’s license, an affidavit reads. However, he “had nothing to add to this case” except to tell investigators it was just him and “nobody else,” detectives said.
Around five months later, investigators said they were ultimately able to identify the suspect in the original theft as a 17-year-old from Daytona Beach.
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