Carjacking suspect arrested after stealing car with child in backseat, leading authorities on pursuit

Police arrested a grand theft suspect who stole a white sedan with a child inside in the Leimert Park area Monday evening.

The pursuit started around 8:50 p.m. Monday near Figueroa Street and Ninth Street in Downtown Los Angeles. The victim of the carjacking told police her two-year-old son was in the car when it was stolen.

At around 9:00 p.m. the Los Angeles Police Department used spike strips to slow down the vehicle. All four tires were said to be impacted. 

The car then headed towards the 10 Freeway. 

Just before 9:15 p.m. the suspect finally came to a stop in front of an apartment complex near Santa Rosalita Drive and Angeles Vista Boulevard in the Crenshaw area. He promptly exited the vehicle and was arrested without further incident. 

Officers recovered the child from a car seat in the rear of the stolen vehicle.

Footage from above the scene via Sky2 showed the toddler's mother sprinting towards the ambulance where the child was being analyzed. 

She told police that she had briefly entered a convenience store and didn't want to disturb her sleeping son in the back. That's when the vehicle was stolen from the parking lot with the child inside. 

"I kept trying to chase after the car barefoot," said Janel Monae Jones. "Then I seen the police and I told them what happened and gave them my location on my phone -- Find my iPhone -- and that's how they located my son." 

She said that her son hadn't woken up until he was being taken from the car by police officers. 

"I just thank God that he don't know what happened," she said.