Thief steals minivan with baby inside

By Larry Hartstein

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A thief got more than he bargained for Tuesday when he stole a minivan with a baby in it, Atlanta police said.

The mother left the infant boy in the minivan while she dropped off an older child at a Mitchell Street day care about 11:40 a.m. The minivan was running, and the thief drove away in it.

The thief stopped at a nearby Wings R Us on Whitehall Street. He placed the car seat holding the infant on the to-go counter and ran out.

"He told me, ‘I just found a baby, call 911,'" 18-year-old James Ku, whose mother owns the restaurant, told the AJC. "He said, ‘I have to go back to work.' He said he worked at a school down the street, but I didn't really believe him. He was wearing two thick gold earrings.

"I tried to take down a license plate, but I was more worried about the baby."

Turns out the baby slept through the incident, according to Ku, who said the baby was less than a week old.

Police brought the mother by less than two minutes after Ku called 911.

"She just sat next to the baby and cried," he said. "She was just really happy to see that baby again."

Now police are looking for the mother's 2006 blue Chevrolet Uplander. It has a Girl Scouts tag of 791-BCM.

Anyone spotting the minivan should call Atlanta police immediately.