Man arrested after disappearing with 9-month-old infant he was babysitting
Police in Fort Collins arrested a man who allegedly disappeared with the 9-month-old infant who he was babysitting at the time. Gabriel Motta was arrested after the parents of the child told police he had disappeared with their son about two days before.
According to police, Motta and the child were found less than an hour after the initial missing child report was filed. At the time, the parents had told police that Motta, 50, of Fort Collins, had last been seen with the child about 5 p.m. on July 17.
The search for Motta began about 8:15 a.m. on July 19 after the parents of the infant told police he was last seen at the bus stop by Denny's on East Mulberry Street early on July 18, and the child's parents had not been able to reach him since then.
Motta had a pending warrant for theft and a shooting that occurred in May. The parents of the child also had a restraining order against Motta.
Less than an hour later, police located Motta at the Downtown Transit Center where the child was found in a stroller at the scene. Officers found methamphetamine and several stolen items with Motta, along with a loaded handgun under the blankets where the infant had been lying inside the stroller. The child was assessed at the hospital and found to be not injured.
"With a weapon hidden so close to an infant, and within reach of an individual who has such blatant disregard for human life, it's a miracle nobody was harmed," said Assistant Chief Tim Doran, who leads the Criminal Investigation Division in a statement. "I'm grateful to our detectives for their diligent work on the shooting case and officers who quickly rescued this child from further danger."
Motta was booked into the Larimer County Jail and issued a combined $125,000 cash/surety bond for several charges in connection to the child missing case and a previous investigation from May. He faces the following charges for the most recent incident: possession of a weapon by a previous offender, criminal possession of two or more financial devices, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, child abuse and violation of a protection order.
Motta faces the following charges from the incident in May in which he is accused of stealing a woman's purse from a vehicle and shooting at the woman from a moving vehicle when she attempted to retrieve her property: attempted first-degree murder, illegal discharge of a firearm, possession of a weapon by a previous offender and felony menacing.