Kent Police Officers and Detectives this week identified, located and arrested a man they suspect of carjacking a vehicle, and in the process, kidnapping a two-year-old boy.
Police say that on Sunday, Jan. 8, 2023 at about 4:15 pm, Patrol Officers responded to 911 calls of a vehicle theft at the 7-11 located on Central Ave South (map below).
The victim stated that her 2-year-old son was asleep inside her car when it was stolen.
Witnesses provided a general description of the suspect and a direction of travel for the stolen vehicle.
Here’s more from Kent Police:
“Commander Bishop quickly set up an Amber alert. Multiple Officers flooded the area to search, checking every location where the vehicle could hide. About an hour after the child was taken, Patrol Officer Heyne located the vehicle in the Red Lion parking lot. The uninjured child was thankfully still inside. The suspect had fled the scene.
“Now that the child was safe, Patrol Officers and Detectives immediately transitioned to locating and collecting any available evidence that would ID the suspect. They collected fingerprints and DNA from the vehicle, videos, and scoured for additional witnesses. They quickly identified the suspect, a 31-year-old Kent resident, and deployed resources to find him.
“On January 12 at about 1:30 am, Patrol Officer Burns spotted the suspect, and with some excellent teamwork Patrol tactics he was taken into custody without incident. The suspect was booked for Kidnapping 1 and Theft of a Motor Vehicle.
“Multiple Detectives and Patrol Officer collaborated to bring this child back home and get this suspect off our Kent streets.
“Excellent job team!”
