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When teens take car, they get a year-old child
Police arrest a 13-year-old and look for another boy. The year-old child is safe.
By BRIAN WHITE
Published July 22, 2005
TAMPA - Maria Muniz only left her year-old son alone in her car for "half a minute" this week.
But that's all it took for two boys to hop into the 2003 Mitsubishi Gallant and drive away, Tampa police said.
"I saw the kids coming when I parked the car, but I never thought they were going to do something like that because they were kids," said Muniz, 28. Police arrested a 13-year-old on Thursday, and are still looking for a second boy in connection with the theft, which occurred Monday.
Muniz had parked at her mother's house on the 800-block of Orient Street and left the engine running to drop off her daughter, Katherine, 4. Muniz was on her way to class at Concorde Career Institute, where she is studying to be a dental assistant.
After she left her daughter inside, she went back out and saw that her car was gone, along with her son, Christian. Her screams brought out neighbors, who found Christian on the curb about a block away, said Tampa police spokesman Joe Durkin. He said the boys didn't realize there was a baby in the back seat when they stole the car, and put Christian out when they did.
They drove for about 2 miles before ditching the car near the Robles Park public housing complex, Durkin said.
Muniz said she got her car back, but her cell phone and about $40 were taken from her purse, which she left in the car.
Police used witnesses and fingerprints to identify the boy and arrested him around 6 a.m. Thursday on charges of grand theft auto, burglary, aggravated child abuse and false imprisonment of a child, Durkin said. He was taken to the Juvenile Assessment Center after he admitted to the theft, Durkin said. His name is being withheld by the Times because of his age.
The boy has been previously arrested on charges of auto theft, cocaine possession and armed robbery, most recently in May, Durkin said.
Brian White can be reached at 813 226-3354 or bwhite@sptimes.com
[Last modified July 22, 2005, 00:32:15]
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