A man of Cuban origin, identified as Noel Castro, was arrested in Miami after stealing a vehicle with three children inside, local authorities reported.
The incident occurred last Saturday in the southern part of the Little Havana neighborhood, according to a report from Local 10. The car was found shortly after near Beacon Boulevard and Southwest Sixth Street.
According to the police report, a girl who was sleeping inside the Nissan Versa rented by her mother woke up and noticed that an unknown man was at the wheel. The individual, later identified as Castro, 26, directed a disturbing comment to the minor: "I have something for you." Immediately afterward, he took off his shirt, got out of the car, and fled the scene, leaving the children in the vehicle.
The mother of the minors, aged 1, 10, and 12, had parked the vehicle on the side of the street and left her children sleeping inside the car for just a few minutes. When she returned, she discovered with horror that her vehicle had been stolen.
The officers arrested Castro in the vicinity of West Flagler Street and Southwest 27 Avenue. Fortunately, the children were uninjured.
The authorities were able to identify Castro thanks to surveillance footage that captured the moment of the robbery. After being confronted with the evidence, the accused confessed to the crime. He now faces multiple charges, including kidnapping, vehicle theft, breaking into an occupied vehicle, and child abuse without causing serious harm.
Additionally, court records reveal that Castro had an open case for resisting an officer without violence and was on probation for aggravated assault against a pregnant victim.
The Miami Police Department, through its spokesperson Kiara Delva, expressed relief that the children were not injured in the incident. "We are grateful that the children were not harmed," she stated in a statement.
Although they are not common, news about car thefts with children inside appears with some frequency in the media.
At the end of October 2023, a 34-year-old Cuban was arrested in Little Havana after attempting to steal a vehicle in which there was a three-year-old girl.
In the midst of the attempted robbery, the individual -identified as Yendry Carrazana- also dragged the grandmother of the minor along the street, who ended up with several minor injuries.
"He wanted to steal the car, but we warned him that there was a girl inside the car. At that moment, my uncle came, immobilized him on the ground, and that's when the argument with the guy started escalating," explained one of the family members who witnessed the incident.
Around the same time, a thief stole a vehicle with everything inside, including a two-year-old child, at a gas station in Boynton Beach, south Florida. In 2023, 162 children in the United States were involved in similar situations, according to Kids and Car Safety.
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