The man who stole a car with a baby still inside from a Fontana parking lot was found sitting on the sidewalk holding the child in Norco before he was taken into custody Monday afternoon, police said.
The crime occurred at around 2 p.m. at at 10515 Sierra Avenue, according to the Fontana Police Department. A woman left her silver Kia Optima running with her 7-week-old daughter still inside and the air conditioning on while she picked up food at Chipotle, police said.
A man went into the car and drove off, police said. The mother ran out of the restaurant, screaming that her child was still inside.
"Please, please, leave the baby...just please, don't hurt her," she pleaded before her child was found.
The infant's father was so worried about his daughter, he went on his own search for the stolen vehicle in hopes of retrieving his child.
"I'm just glad he got caught," Kali Williams, the baby's father said. "That's my thoughts on it."
After an hour-long search for the Kia, a Riverside County Sheriff's deputy found the abandoned car at River Road and Bluff Street in Norco, police said. The suspect was later found on Bluff holding the child.
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Authorities identified the car thief as Agbaosi Christopher Tanpinu. The suspect was arrested by Ontario police on Sept. 8 on suspicion of burglary, investigators told NBC4.
The baby was unharmed during the theft, but was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Rosa Ordaz contributed to this report.
