The father of a 1-year-old who was found safe Friday afternoon after his car was stolen with the child inside at a Buckhead shopping center has been charged.
Raffin’ee Gonzalez was charged with reckless conduct by endangering the bodily safety of another. The child was found unharmed just down the street from The Peach Shopping Center along Peachtree Road, Atlanta police spokeswoman Officer TaSheena Brown said.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Gonzalez left the car running at the shopping plaza about 1:40 p.m. and a man hopped inside and drove off with the child in the back seat, Brown said. A witness attempted to stop the thief from speeding away, Brown said.
A short distance from the plaza, which houses a Publix and several other businesses and restaurants, the suspect parked the car and ran off before officers arrived, Brown said. He is still at large and no details have been released about him.
Friday’s auto theft is not uncommon in Atlanta. Deputy Chief Timothy Peek, in a Thursday news conference, pleaded with people to police themselves and “stop leaving keys inside of our vehicles.” Peek identified that stolen vehicles are often used by criminals in future crimes.
There have been approximately 2,500 vehicles stolen in the city this year, Peek said. More than 1,500 of those were stolen after the key was left inside or the vehicle was left running.
“When we do that, that tells the criminal that ... this is a good place to come and do their shopping and we don’t want the city of Atlanta — we do not want the metro Atlanta area — to be a good place for shopping as far as auto thefts and larceny from autos,” he added.
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