Union City police are trying to find the man they say stole an SUV with a 1-year-old inside Sunday.
Police said the car theft at a Shell gas station on Roosevelt Highway was a slider crime and the suspect might be responsible for other incidents in the area.
Police identified the suspect Monday afternoon as 22-year-old Hashiem Edison. Warrants were obtained against him on vehicle theft and kidnapping charges.
The Kia Sorrento was later found abandoned — with the child inside — near Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, officials told Channel 2 Action News. The child was checked out by Emergency Medical Services and released to the care of his grandmother.
The child’s father, Larry James, 22, was charged with second-degree child cruelty after the incident. Police said he left the toddler in the SUV while he went inside the gas station about 5:30 p.m., Channel 2 reported.
James left the vehicle running while he paid for gas, the news station reported. While the SUV was unattended, a man jumped behind the wheel and drove off, police said.
"Right after he took the car, the dad came back to me and said, 'Oh! I got the baby in the car! Call 911!'" gas station manager Prem Kunwar told Channel 2.
Kunwar said he recognized the man who stole the SUV.
“He comes in here all the time and steals the candy,” Kunwar said.
Kunwar said he tried to follow the man to confront him, but it was too late.
The whereabouts of the alleged car thief are not known.
Anyone with information on Edison is asked to contact Union City police at 770-515-7825 or gnelson@unioncityga.org.
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