Man arrested for allegedly stealing a car and kidnapping a baby
VAN NUYS, Calif. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Authorities arrested a man after he allegedly stealing a car in Van Nuys and taking off with a baby inside the car.
With a wave and smile and James is back in the family car with his mom as the driver. Not the man arrested for stealing the car with baby on board.
It happened suddenly in the San Fernando Valley.
Two separate crime scenes, separated by less than a mile, and at each location, a protective parent intervened.
"I think any father would do the same thing," said Gustavo Flores, James' father.
Jumping into action
James' mother, Laurina Esposito, got out of the car at Starbucks to quickly grab the order she already had phoned in.
"He was asleep, I was stupid, and went off with him and the baby in the car," Esposito said.
But Esposito jumped into action.
"I chased the car and held onto it. I tried to get him. At least if I could get him and the person could take the car. [I grabbed on for] probably a solid 15-20 seconds. I chased him all the way through, and I probably don't even know [if I got hurt], as long as he is okay that is all I care about," Esposito spoke.
A dead end
A man also at the Starbucks heard Esposito screaming and tried to follow the fleeing car.
"He was [a real] angel," Esposito praised.
The alleged carjacker headed into Panorama City.
"I was just driving and a car smashed into me. We followed it,"
Lulu says the Ford edged ended up with nowhere to go.
"He pulled [into a dead end] and all the way down. I didn't want to confront him because he was running away from us," said Lulu.
Following the helicopters
Police quickly took him into custody with Flores not far behind.
"He was out looking for the cars and followed the helicopters," Esposito described.
The helicopters led Flores to the second location.
"When I saw the suspect in handcuffs I just went after him, a moment of rage. The officer pulled me to the side and told me I better calm down or they were going to handcuff me," Flores said.
As for James? He was a pretty good sport through it all.
